Our Damnation
by Evil Geniuses
Summary: The life Savannah Kinkirk once knew is no more. Various events have built up to one dramatic Christmas that results in the exposure of dark family secrets. All leading up to their own damnation.
1. Chapter 1

This is a story that came to us, it's not your typical "big happy family" story where everything is perfect or even _remotely_ perfect. Enjoy! :)

* * *

_I know there's no greater feelin' than the love of family_

_Where can you go?_

_When the world don't treat you right?_

_The answer is home!_

What if home _didn't _treat you right? What if home was where the problems lied? Savannah sighed remembering the days of her tender youth when home was where the heart was.

Back when she little, Savannah Kinkirk always had looked forward to the Christmas holidays. In her younger years, the holidays had been joyous bliss. All of her aunts, uncles, and cousins would gather together at her grandparents' house in Glen Oak, California. Each year, they would gather at the church her grandfather had preached at for over thirty years for the Nativity. When she was young, Savannah always got to play the angel – like her aunt Ruthie before her. They would tie her up on a string and she would get to 'fly' like an angel. Afterward, they would head back to her grandparents' house, eat a home cooked meal, and exchange homemade Christmas gifts. Oh how she missed those days.

Christmas no longer was the same as it had been when she was four. Her family still got together each year, at her grandmother's request. No longer were family gatherings so 'joyous.' One might suggest that they had become living hell. Something changed that Christmas her Uncle Simon revealed his true self. She remembered it like it was yesterday…

Her family got bigger every time she saw them. Her Uncle Matt and Aunt Sarah had twin boys and they had an announcement to make. Mary and Carlos hadn't visited recently, but Savannah had gone to New York for the first time that past summer and saw Charlie, her favorite cousin. She had a feeling something was wrong, but everyone always changed the subject when she was around. Uncle Simon was traveling all over the world, and he told his parents he too had an announcement to make when he got home. He hadn't been around much in Savannah's short life, so unfortunately, she didn't know her Uncle Simon well. Her youngest aunt, Ruthie, seemed very happy with her boyfriend Peter.

It was finally the day four-year-old Savannah had been waiting for – Christmas Eve. Today was the day she would get to see all of her cousins, aunts, and uncles again. Her mother had spent all morning picking out just the 'right' outfit for Savannah to wear. After she had settled on a furry pink dress, she started to bundle her tightly. Once she was tightly bundled up, Lucy smiled at her precious angel, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yup!" Savannah chimed, eager to go over to her grandparents' home. Lucy picked Savannah up, holding her tightly as they made their way across the lawn to the parsonage, her grandparents' home.

"Come in!" There was a cry from the other side of the shut glass door. Lucy slowly opened it and was suddenly attacked with the delicious smell of turkey cooking amongst other festive foods.

"Wow, Mom, this all smells great!" She said, closing the door behind her and putting Savannah down, pulling off her jacket, hat, and gloves.

"Thank you, sweetie." Annie smiled at her daughter's compliment on her cooking. She took notice of her granddaughter.

"Savannah!" She held out her arms and Savannah ran over to be picked up and held by her grandmother.

"I'm hungry." The little girl declared boastfully.

Annie and Lucy laughed at the little girl's statement.

"Well, we have to wait, your dad went to pick the others up at the airport," Lucy informed her daughter.

"When will they be here?" Savannah asked curiously. She hoped soon, her anticipation couldn't hold on for much longer.

"Not long now." Annie smiled once again, holding Savannah close before putting her down. At that exact moment David and Sam bounced down the stairs, David went for the fridge while Sam lagged behind.

"No, we're eating soon!" Annie pulled her son away from the fridge and shut the door. "Have something small and healthy!"

"Will Mary be here?" David asked suddenly.

"Yes, she and Carlos are on their way right now," Annie answered her son's question.

"But they've been having problems." Sam pointed out. David looked over to his sister and niece.

"I would rather not talk about this with Savannah in the room," Lucy butted in.

"Why not Lucy – you know it's true, she and Carlos are over." Sam continued arguing, not noting the glares from his brother and mother.

"I won't believe it until I see it. Mary and Carlos are together." Lucy said, taking Savannah and walking out the room in a huff. Her mother followed abruptly behind her.

"Bullshit!" Sam shouted. David gasped and Annie whacked her son over his head.

"Don't use that language!" Annie shrieked at her son.

"Everyone's fucked up in this house." Sam shouted once again.

"Dude, shut up!" David shouted, storming out the room.

"What's wrong?" Lucy was concerned when her second to youngest brother came in the room and fell upon the couch.

"Sam's a butthead." He mumbled.

"What'd he do, David?"

"He's badmouthing everyone. Talking crap about Mary," David got a glare from Annie at the use of the word crap in front of Savannah, "and this family."

Lucy shook her head, tsking.

"Don't worry about him, Dave," Lucy stroked her brother's head. "Just worry about you. That means _no_ swearing in front of the little ones." Savannah sighed looking away from her mother and uncle. She didn't understand what was so bad about the language he had used. It was like they thought she was some sort of baby. I'm not a baby, she told herself. She was a big girl. In January – the following month – she would be a whole five years old! That was a whole hand. She was pretty proud of herself.

Her grandmother left the room to go check on the turkey. Moments later, the door burst open and Kevin walked in. Behind him stood Uncle Matt, holding a suit case in one arm and her three-year-old cousin in the other. "Uncle Matt!" Savannah screamed, breaking away from her grandmother's grip. She raced over to the door and wrapped her arms around her uncle's waist.

Laughing, he set the suitcase and little boy down. He wrapped his arms around Savannah. "You're getting so big, Savannah! The last time I saw you, you were this big!" He placed his hand at about her chest.

"I'm going to be five years old next month!" she chirped.

"Wow, five years old," Matt grinned. He stretched out all five of his fingers on his right hand. "That's a whole hand!"

"I know!" Savannah giggled. Behind him, the rest of her aunts and uncles stood. Aunt Sarah was holding the other little guy; he was shorter than the one standing next to Savannah. Next to her, stood Aunt Mary and Uncle Carlos. Each of them was holding a little blonde haired girl. In between them, stood an unfamiliar blond haired, grey eyed man. He stood as tall as Uncle Matt, but he was chubbier. He had the thickest eyebrows she had ever seen and his lips were bigger than anyone's in their family. She figured this must be her uncle Simon. Her eyes glanced away from him and her eyes met a familiar face. His brown curly mousey hair stuck out to her. "Charlie!" she called.

"Savannah!" he called back as he broke through his aunts and uncles to wrap his arms around Savannah. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too," she agreed hugging her cousin tighter. Savannah looked up to see the rest of the family cooing at them.

"Awh."

Grandma Annie busted in the room moments later. She shrieked. "You're all here! Finally! Goodness, I can't believe you're all here!" She raced across the room and wrapped her arms around all of her children and children-in-law. "I'm so grateful that you're all here…_Mary_!" She screeched as she hugged her eldest daughter tightly.

"Hi Mom," Mary smiled wryly. "It's great to be home, finally."

"Really, the pleasure is ours," Sarah smiled as she set her son on the ground. "Is there anything you need help with, Annie?"

"Mom, Sarah. How many times do I have to tell you to call me Mom?" Annie laughed jokingly.

Sarah flushed a little, "Mom."

"And actually, no, there isn't anything I need help with," Annie insisted. "Eric's upstairs changing his clothes for the Nativity. Then we're going to head over to the church." Sarah nodded in understanding.

Savannah walked over behind the big chair motioning Charlie to follow her. He looked uneasy, but he did. "Is it true?" Savannah whispered when they were out of an ear's reach from the grownups. The adults were all having their own little conversation, surely they wouldn't notice.

"Is what true?" Charlie asked curiously.

"Are your parents breaking up?" Savannah whispered.

"Huh? Why would you think that? No, they're not breaking up, at least not that I know of…" Charlie trailed with suspicion.

"My uncle Sam said they were," Savannah insisted.

"Well he's wrong," Charlie folded his arms. "My mommy and daddy love each other. Daddy told me so."

She heard two soft giggles. Savannah abruptly turned around to see her smaller cousins. Both shared their mother's dark, curly brown hair. "Hi, I'm Jeremiah," the taller skinnier boy spoke. He placed his hand on the shorter, chunkier twin. "This is my brother Jonah…we're twins."

"Yeah, we know," Savannah said. "My mommy's miscarried two sets of twins."

"What does _miscarry _mean?" Jonah asked.

"You're too young to understand," Savannah replied bluntly. She loved having someone _younger _to tell that to. Ever since she was born, she had been the _baby _in the house. Her parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents were always telling her she was too _young _to understand.

The door bell rang. Steps could be heard as her grandfather thudded down the stairs. "I've got—." Her grandfather froze when he saw the crowd in the living room. "You're all here!" he gasped as he entered the living room. He wrapped his arms around each of his sons. "Matt, Simon," he smiled. He turned around and saw a face he hadn't seen often in quite some time. "Mary," he grinned as he wrapped his arm around his eldest daughter.

"Dad," she whispered.

"Um. The door, anyone?" Lucy asked as she broke up the little reunion. "_I'll _get it!" she sniped as she pushed through her family to reach for the door. She pulled the door open and her youngest aunt, Ruthie, and Peter came into sight. Their fingers were locked together as they gripped each others hands tightly.

"Hi everyone! Sorry we're late," Ruthie smiled. She saw the blonde twin girls – Emilia and Jennifer – sitting on the floor by the door and bent down and placed her hand on their heads. "Wow, they're getting so big!" She stood up and came face to face with her eldest sister. "Mary – I didn't expect to – well it's great to see you!"

Mary seemed to roll her eyes. "It's nice to see you too, Ruthie…who's the guy?"

"Oh this is my – this is Peter, my –." Savannah took note to the glimmering diamond on her left ring finger. Everyone else in the room seemed to take note to it also. They all stared awkwardly at her waiting for answers.

"Your fiancée?" Lucy finally questioned.

Ruthie grinned, "Yes, my fiancée – thanks for the help, Luce. We're engaged!"

Annie let out a scream as she wrapped her arms around her younger daughter. "I can't believe my youngest daughter is _engaged_! Congratulations, Ruthie!"

Eric let out a smile as he placed his hand on Peter's shoulder. "I've been waiting to say this for some time. Welcome to the family, son."

All of the adults in the room took their turns congratulating Ruthie. Savannah sighed, turning to her cousin, Charlie. He shrugged at her. She commented, "Everyone in this family is getting married or got married."

"Sam and David aren't married," Charlie pointed out.

"They're ten," Savannah giggled. "I hope I don't get married at ten."

"Girls are yucky, I'm never getting married," Charlie stated.

"We are _not _yucky!" Savannah screeched. "Boys are yucky."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean _you _are yucky. You're not like other girls. _Other _girls are yucky."

"Sure," Savannah muttered. She noticed the commotion had died down amongst her elders.

"We should get going to the church," her grandfather announced. "Unless someone else has an announcement to make." He hinted looking around.

Matt and Sarah eyeballed each other. "We'll save ours for dinner," Sarah insisted. Matt glanced over at his brother, Simon.

"Yeah, same," Simon agreed, turning pinkish.

"Alright, it's set. To the church we go!" Eric announced.

The Nativity scene was extra special that year with the whole family surrounding it. Savannah remembered being jealous at the time, being not the _only _flying angel. Her cousins Jenny and Emi joined her as flying angels. She didn't think it was fair, she was supposed to be her grandparents' only angel.

Afterwards, they returned back to the parsonage as planned. They crowded around the table in the dining room. Savannah sat at a little kids table to the side with her cousins Charlie, Jeremiah, Jonah, Jenny, and Emi. She didn't like being left out of the _big people _table. Sam and David got to sit with the grown ups, why shouldn't she? They were only six years older than she. Then again, Charlie was eight months older than her.

Savannah found herself listening to the grownups' table. "Everyone," she heard her Uncle Matt say. She turned around to see her Uncle Matt grasp his wife's hand. "We have an announcement to make." Everyone's eyes beat on Matt and Sarah for the following moments of silence.

Sarah grinned widely. "We-we're going to have another baby!"

Annie let out a cry of joy. She set her fork down and got out of her chair. Her arms flung around Sarah. "Congratulations!"

On the other side of the table, Eric was grinning widely. "Congratulations, son. I'm happy for you," Eric offered his congratulations across the table.

"That's great!" Kevin insisted. "Congratulations!"

"Yeah, great," Lucy murmured. She fiddled with her food looking away from Matt and Sarah. Her face was beet red as she seemed to be holding back tears. Kevin wrapped his arm around his wife and whispered something unheard by everyone else in the room.

"We're gonna be big brothers!" Jeremiah and Jonah were chirping off to the side. Savannah tried to ignore their annoyingness.

"How far along are you?" Ruthie inquired toward Sarah.

"Nine weeks," Sarah informed them all. "I'm due at the end of July."

Savannah couldn't help but notice Matt's glare towards her uncle Simon. "Simon," she heard him whisper.

Simon let out a sigh. "I have an announcement too." Their eyes focused on him and his face turned beet red. "I'm not pregnant." Everyone chuckled a little. He let out a louder sigh and his face turned redder. "It's…you see…about…remember when I was sleeping around a lot a few years back?"

"Is this something we should talk about with the little ones in the room?" Lucy rolled her eyes. "I mean, seriously, if you have a STD or something…I don't know about Matt, Sarah, Mary, and Carlos – but I don't want my four-year-old informed about that stuff yet!"

"I'm done being ashamed," he whispered. "I need to come clean." He looked over towards his nieces and nephews. "Even they need to know the truth."

Annie dropped her fork and looked towards her son. "What is it, Simon?"

"The…I've realized…the real reason that I … uh, did what I did…well…I was desperate to prove I was attracted to women." Everyone's mouth dropped. "I-I've come to realize…I'm gay."


	2. Chapter 2

Two Christmases passed before another worth-being-notable holiday arose. Savannah had begun dreading that Christmas 2012 since that January. All havoc had broken out with Mary and Carlos's brutal divorce. Everyone was _long _over Simon's coming out. They had all come to accept Simon for who he was. Of course, at first, they had all been in a state of shock. Lucy had gone on and on about how he couldn't have picked a _worse _time to break his news. It was a _holiday. _Holidays were supposed to be family orientated; he had made it only about himself. His parents had both been in a state of shock at first. Surprisingly, they moved on quickly. Every now and then, Savannah would catch them giving Simon a _questionable _look every time he looked at another man. Simon didn't come around often after he revealed his sexuality, except for holidays. They had heard he had a boyfriend – he was supposed to be bringing him along for the holiday.

Annie and Eric still showed uneasiness with their son's bringing along a boyfriend. Matt had gotten on their cases a few times since. He had pointed out: they would openly invite any _girlfriend _of their son's into their house – what was the difference? Of course, Annie and Eric were both in denial of having any 'issue' with Simon's bringing a boyfriend home. Still, it could be read by their expressions.

Last summer, Matt and Sarah had moved back to Glen Oak with their three sons. They were growing so fast. The youngest – Jacob – was in the 'terrible two' phase. He was into everything. Jonah and Jeremiah – six, only a year younger than Savannah – still liked to annoy Savannah. They followed her around _everywhere_, no matter how hard she tried to avoid them. Sarah had opened up her own practice, and Matt worked at the hospital. The three boys spent most of their days at the Kinkirk house. Kevin had volunteered to watch them for Matt and Sarah while they were at work.

Life had not been going Savannah's way lately. She found herself angry with God, practically hating him. How could such a gracious power let such horrible things happen to her family? She was supposed to have nine younger siblings now – a trio of triplets; and three sets of twins. Her mother had been in such a depressed state of mind – especially after losing the triplets. She didn't understand why her siblings could have more babies and she couldn't. Lucy spent a lot of time off to herself. Often, Savannah would hear her crying in her parents' bedroom. She felt bad for her mom – it wasn't fair that God had taken away all of her babies. In a way, Savannah felt lucky to be alive. From what she had heard, her mother had almost lost her, too. Though she hadn't – she was here. Still, Savannah was angry at God for not allowing her mother to give birth to another child.

Savannah's reason for dreading this Christmas did not lie with her mother's depressed state of mind; her uncle's boyfriend; or even the dreaded twins. No, she had been dreading this Christmas because of one simple fact: Mary and Carlos. Mary and Carlos had split that previous January, shortly after the Christmas holidays. All hell had broken loose when Mary revealed that Jennifer and Emilia were _not _Carlos' daughters. The fact was, when she was 'separated' from Carlos she had run off to Florida to be with Robbie. The girls were Robbie's.

Drama collapsed their family. Carlos had left her making a run for Puerto Rico leaving the three kids behind. He even started to accuse Charlie of not being his. Charlie was devastated living with his mother. At eight, he knew exactly what was going on and had started to resent his mother. She was now living with Robbie – since he was the rightful father of the girls. From what Charlie had told her in their secret instant messages, Jenny and Emi had fallen into Robbie's cunningness. They had accepted him as their _daddy_. He said he never would.

"Savannah, are you ready to go?" Savannah's mother peeked into her bedroom.

"Yeah, just one minute!" the eight-year old stood alone as she hesitantly put her iPod on pause. It was an early Christmas present from her uncle Ben. He had sent it in a package and her parents had allowed her to open it a day early. Her mother's_, "He shouldn't have" _still lingered in Savannah's head. She was glad he had. All of the other kids in her class had iPods – why shouldn't she? With her father's help, she had begun downloading songs on iTunes that she enjoyed. Of course, all of the lyrics had to pass her mother's approval. Savannah shoved the iPod Nano in her small backpack and raced out of the room to meet up with her parents.

"Do we really have to go?" Savannah asked with a heavy sigh. "Why can't it be just the three of us this year?"

"I know, honey." Lucy ran a hand through her daughter's hair. "Come on, let's go."

Savannah looked to her father for support, but he just shrugged. The girl rolled her eyes and walked out the door with her parents close behind.

The walk over to the parsonage was too short for Savannah's approval. Before she got to the back porch, the young girl could hear yelling coming from inside. It sounded like her grandmother, probably yelling at Sam. She rolled her eyes and let her parents passed.

Kevin opened the door and let his wife and daughter go into the kitchen.

"We're here!" Lucy called.

"Come in, guys!" Annie put on a smile that looked funny, like it was painful for her to do so. "Matt and Sarah are on their way with the boys. Mary and Robbie are already here."

Savannah didn't miss her parents exchanging glances at one another.

Before anything she could ask, there were footsteps coming down the stairs. Savannah saw her aunt Ruthie enter carrying a curly-haired blonde baby of three months; her newest cousin Natasha.

"Aunt Ruthie!" Savannah ran over to her aunt and gave her a hug.

"Mom, do I really have to eat here?" Sam asked.

"We already discussed this, yes, you have to eat here. It is a holiday, it's time to be with family, you're family and you're going to be here." Annie said; her voice calm but Savannah knew it wasn't. She sounded the same as her mother did when she was upset at her father but didn't want to yell because she was in the room.

"This sucks!" Sam shouted. Savannah retreated towards her father, who put an arm around her.

"What did you say?" Annie snapped, glaring at her youngest.

"I hate being here, it gets worse every year! I wish I could leave this hell hole!" Sam yelled, storming out the door and slamming it shut.

The commotion woke up the infant in Ruthie's arms. The little girl began crying. A split second later, the door opened and Savannah saw her aunt's husband, Peter walk in.

"What's with him?" Peter pointed behind him, in the direction Sam stormed off in. He walked over and kissed his wife and relieved his wife of the weight of their bawling daughter.

"Nothing," Ruthie sighed wearily, going over to the counter and sitting at one of the stools. David barged in a few moments later.

"Hey, is this a bad time, Mom?" he directed at his mother.

Annie looked over at her son curiously. "What is it?"

"Is it okay if Melinda stays for dinner? Her parents are still out and she doesn't wanna be alone."

"We'll see, Dave." Annie let out a sigh, brushing a trickle of sweat coming from her forehead. Savannah couldn't help but notice the wrinkles around her grandmother's eyes. Over the last three years, Annie Camden had really begun to start to show signs of aging

"Great; thanks!" The teen ran back upstairs where his girl friend was waiting on the phone for him.

Lucy gave her mother a glare. "I thought this was a _family _event," she let out a sigh.

Annie gave her third oldest an inquisitive voice. "And how many of you and your brother and sisters' friends did we have over for dinner when you guys were growing up? We just can't tell the twins differently all of the sudden when we've opened our house up to your friends for years." Lucy rolled her eyes at her mother. Her gaze focused toward her husband who shrugged, showing agreement with his mother-in-law.

"So…" Kevin started gazing over at his mother-in-law. "You said that Mary and Robbie were here?"

"They're in the living room," Ruthie chipped in, placing her hands on her hips. She made eye contact with her sister. They both seemed to be thinking the same thing:_ the dreaded couple._

Savannah's mother had explained to her that Robbie had lived at her grandparents' house with them for a few years. Before then, he had dated Mary and everything had gone all wrong. For awhile, they hated Robbie. Then he was proclaimed 'homeless' and the Camden's took him in. Everyone liked him. Now, knowing the truth about Jennifer and Emilia, everyone seemed hesitant about accepting him back into their family. Technically, Carlos and Mary had been divorced at the time – so they weren't having an _affair_. It was Mary who had chosen to go crawling back to Carlos; Mary who had lied to him for six years. She had lied to the entire family for well over six years and counting.

"Where's Charlie?" Savannah asked her grandmother.

"He's in the front." Annie smiled at her granddaughter. Savannah ran out to see her cousin, the only person she looked forward to seeing this Christmas.

But Charlie didn't look so happy, when Savannah reached him on the front steps, she noticed he had a scowl on his face.

"Hey, Charlie." Savannah sat next to her cousin.

Charlie let out a grunt for his greeting.

"He's here." The boy said after a couple minutes. Savannah knew who he was talking about, the guy that was the father of his sisters and currently with his mother and the reason he didn't see his dad much anymore.

"Yeah, I heard."

"I hate him." Charlie spat. Savannah frowned.

"That's not really nice." Her mother had always told her that they shouldn't _hate _anyone. She tried not to hate anyone, but she could see where Charlie was coming from.

"I don't care. My mom doesn't even pay any attention to me anymore."

"That's not true, is it?"

Charlie nodded.

"She's always too busy with _him_, or taking care of Emi and Jenny. She doesn't have time for me anymore, I only see her once a day or something. I see _him_ more often."

"I'm sorry." Savannah didn't know what to say about that. She couldn't believe her aunt would do that to her only son, but again she never saw her that often and Charlie was usually honest. He would never lie to her, they were best friends.

"Have you told your dad?"

Charlie looked over to his cousin.

"Not yet, but—." At that moment, unfortunately, Charlie was stopped from his rant by Simon walking up the driveway with a man they've never met but he looked a little familiar to Savannah, she couldn't exactly place how.

"Hey, guys!" Simon called out to his eldest niece and nephew.

"Hi, Uncle Simon!" Savannah stood and Charlie followed.

"Is everyone here?" He was grinning widely – the happiest he had looked in a long time. His hands were locked with the other man's, similar to how Savannah's parents did when they were in public.

"Almost, Uncle Matt and Aunt Sarah aren't here yet." Savannah answered her uncle. "They're still working."

"Oh, okay. Well, come on in." Simon put a hand on Savannah's shoulder and guiding her into the house along with Charlie. The guy Savannah didn't know walked behind them.

"Who's that?" Charlie asked once they were inside.

"That's what I'm going to tell everyone." Simon smiled, yet there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. They entered the living room and Simon called, "Mom, I'm here!" Seconds later, Annie ran into the room and greeted her son.

"I thought you were going to call when you got in. I was worrying about you." Simon's cheeks flushed red.

"Sorry, Mom, there was an accident on the freeway, so we just took a cab instead."

Peter walked down the foyer steps, now without Natasha.

"She's sleeping. Let's see how long that lasts." Peter let out a sigh. "Ruthie's sitting with her for a few with Lucy."

Savannah didn't notice her uncles and Simon must have thought the same as he asked.

"Where are David and Sam?" Simon asked as he turned his neck around scoping the house for them.

"Kevin drove David to pick up Melinda and Sam's around," Annie enlightened them all.

"Melinda?" Simon raised a brow.

"David's friend," Annie and Peter said at the same time.

"Oh." Simon laughed shortly. It was just then Annie noticed the man standing next to him.

"Hello," she hesitantly extended her hand and the guy accepted, shaking hands. "Why do you look so familiar?" The wrinkles on her aged forehead became prominent as she scrunched her face in confused thought.

"Mom, this is—."

"Hey, man!" Another somewhat familiar male voice rang out. It was Robbie and Savannah didn't miss Charlie's scowl. Her aunt followed suit, her clothes a little tasseled. Savannah raised a brow and looked at the grownups. Her grandmother had a disapproving look, Peter was looking away, and Savannah saw her mother and aunt coming down the steps.

"I think she should sleep for a couple hours." Lucy was saying.

"Oh, God, I hope so." Ruthie said with a tint of tiredness in her voice. She went over to her husband who put an arm around her. It was then the two women noticed their brother and the newcomer.

"Simon!" Ruthie gave her brother a pat on the back. Simon nodded in greeting.

Lucy, though, gasped.

"Ronald? Ronald Palmer?" Her blue eyes were as wide as could be with shock.

"Lucy." He spoke quietly.

"You're—you- Simon!" she screeched.

"What?" The blond smirked. "Is something wrong?" Savannah noticed his voice sounded a little funny.

"I don't believe this!" She wrinkled her forehead, rolling her eyes with disgust.

"We just ran into one another, Luce."

"That's not what happened." Robbie argued.

"You, shut up!" Lucy snapped. Savannah saw her youngest aunt exchange glances with her husband. Yeah, her mother could get loud and Savannah knew babies were hard to get to sleep and if Lucy began yelling, Natasha would be awake in no time.

"Don't tell my husband to shut up!" Mary snapped back.

"You have no right to tell me what to do! You come in here like everything is perfectly normal! Do you know how much you've ruined this family? Nobody wants you here, you're such a whore!"

Savannah gasped. She knew that was a _very_ bad word.

"Lucy!" Annie gasped, horrified. Robbie glared at his former girlfriend.

"Take that back!" He yelled, wrapping an arm protectively around Mary.

"No, and you, why are you even back here! This is perverse. I always knew there was something messed up with you! Get out, I don't want you here!"

"Lucy!" Annie cried.

"No, Mom, it's fine. I'm not wanted here, I'll go then! Good-bye, everyone!" Mary glared around the room. Savannah noticed nobody was really sad she was threatening to leave.

Except for Charlie.

"I don't wanna go!" He whined.

"We're _going_! Robbie, get the girls! Sorry, Mom, I know you wanted everyone here but I can't stay. Not with _her_ here."

A few minutes later, Robbie returned with Emi and Jenny following, Robbie carried his and Mary's luggage and handed Charlie his and the girls theirs.

"Great, let's go!" Mary opened the door and walked out the door without looking back, pulling the girls behind her. Robbie looked around the people crowded into the foyer darkly.

"You'll all regret this. Come on, Charlie."

Savannah looked at her cousin sadly, who looked around his family with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry." He whispered and Savannah knew it was to her.

And thus Charlie was gone. Matt, Sarah, and their boys happened to pull in the driveway as Mary was pulling away. When they entered the home, Matt sighed, "Sorry we're late – I had a complicated delivery."

"Was that Mary we just passed?" Sarah squinted inquisitively toward the rest of the family. Everyone's faces somberly stared back at them.

"Oh no," Matt whispered worriedly, "What happened?" _I Gotta Feeling_ by the Black Eyed Peas suddenly went off. It was Matt's ringtone. He reached for his cell phone and his eyes widened as he looked at the caller identification. He looked at the rest of them with frightened eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Seven years passed since the Christmas that drove a rift into the family. Savannah was now fourteen, almost fifteen, and still an only child. Her mother had four more miscarriages over the years; one of which immediately followed that horrible Christmas. They didn't even know she was pregnant. With each miscarriage, Lucy had become more and more depressed and by now, she was no longer the same person Savannah knew a decade before. Savannah saw less and less of her father now, he was picking up extra shifts at the station. He'd joined the force again several years before and was now detective. It didn't really matter to Savannah, because since starting high school, she was hardly ever home. She was always with friends taking trips, at cheer practice, or working at her new job at McDonalds. If anyone even asked her, Savannah would say she was better off in foster care because her parents just weren't her parents anymore.

A week after Mary and Robbie left with the children, the Camden's found out Charlie ran away to Puerto Rico to be with his father. Apparently he'd stolen a buddy pass from one of his mother's former co-workers who became the family babysitter. When Mary tried to get him to come back home, he simply said he didn't want anything to do with her. For being only eight, he knew the absolute right from the very wrong, and being with his father was right. The Camden family had not heard from him since, Charlie should be fifteen, sixteen in the spring. The family had not seen Mary either; she still lived in Florida with Robbie and their twin daughters.

After that phone call seven years earlier that got her uncle acting shady, Matt and Sarah went through numerous fights and arguments that went on and off. But after working through it, they were perfectly fine – or seemed so. Then, _it_ happened. _It_ was the incident that ended her uncle's career as a licensed doctor. It was just over a year earlier; a rough Thanksgiving night at the hospital, a patient already with a complicated pregnancy had eclampsia and had to be treated immediately. At first Matt had done all the right things, but suddenly the patient began bleeding, seizing, and fell into a coma when Matt didn't obey the elder doctor's orders. She died the next day, hours before her extremely premature baby. Savannah didn't see much of him after that, but she saw her aunt Sarah and her cousins regularly online and at school functions. She didn't see them as much as she had the previous year now that she had entered high school; Jeremiah and Jonah were still in their last year of middle school. They would come to all of the high school football games to watch her cheer, though.

Savannah was the only freshman on varsity – cheerleading was her life. Though, she hadn't had as much time to practice on her own now that she was working on Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from five to nine. Because she was under sixteen, she wasn't allowed to work any more hours. She was looking forward to her sixteenth birthday – in a little over a year. Then, her aunt Sarah had promised her a job at her office. She could work for more hours and spend some quality time with her aunt.

Simon and Ronald Palmer moved to Massachusetts—where gay marriages were legal—a few years before. They live in a high rise with the daughter they recently adopted from Vietnam, Lena Mae.

The only persons in the family who had a seemingly normal life were Ruthie and Peter. Unfortunately, the couple moved out of Glen Oak and resided in Ohio where Ruthie was a psychologist and Peter was a teacher. They had one other child, a daughter Zoe Lucia, two years ago.

David and Sam were now grown up. Savannah hadn't seen much of her youngest Uncle Sam. He was always in trouble; and when he was around, her father would drag her out of the room quickly. Of course, she was well old enough now to understand what he's done or might have done; she wasn't as naive as her parents thought. Her other young uncle, David, got his girlfriend, Melinda, pregnant three years earlier and had a baby boy who was given up for adoption. The young couple was still together, though Melinda was still in California while David was on the East coast.

Savannah's grandparents lost the church's house last year when the parishioners voted to have Chandler Hampton as their minister. Her mother flipped out, but Savannah sort of understood why they voted to have him and not her mother, he was much saner. So he moved into the parsonage with his wife, Roxanne, and their four-year old daughter Anna.

Savannah was fiddling her thumbs in her seventh hour United States history class. She found herself glancing repeatedly waiting for the clock to strike three. She breathed in and out. _Tick tock, tick tock. _Slowly, she watched the little hand move to the three, and at last, the shrill bell rung, indicating that Christmas break had officially begun.

Everyone grabbed their books and bags, rushing out the room, chatting excitedly. Except Savannah, who was still putting her pencils in the bag and bookmarking the page she had open in her textbook.

"Oh, come on!" A high pitched voice shouted. Savannah rolled her eyes, looking up at her best friend Caitlin.

"Look, I know you aren't looking forward to Christmas, but think of this: Thursday you and I are going skiing! Won't that be fun?"

"That's six days away." Savannah replied dryly. "No way am I going to survive with my family for _six_ days, Caty."

"We've got the weekend, Monday and Tuesday!"

Savannah shook her head, standing up. "Forget it. No way is my mom going to let me be away from the family for Christmas." She let out a sigh. Here it was, that time of year again; _Christmas_. Another holiday where she would be forced to sit at with _family _and 'pretend' like everything was alright, when everyone knew it wasn't.

"Maybe I can come over?" Caitlin asked as the two left the classroom.

"Is that really a good idea?" Savannah bit her lips. Of all her friends, only Caitlin knew what her life was like at home and what her mother has become.

"I think it'll be good for you to have a friend around. Think about it. I'm free every day except Christmas."

Savannah nodded and they parted ways. Fortunately, for Savannah, though, the best friends weren't apart for more than an hour. When the teenager arrived home, she could hear her mother wailing and yelling. She must've been on the phone with someone; Savannah didn't bother to find out. Instead she crept to her room, grabbed her laptop and its charger, and slipped out the house quietly.

Barely ten minutes later, Savannah was sitting in her best friend's brightly decorated room, sitting on the bed and Caitlin put on music when she arrived, so they were sitting in a comfortable silence. Savannah was checking her mail and Caitlin was checking her Facebook account and the one she shared with Savannah, since she was not allowed to be part of social networking sites. Her mother had banned her from it.

Fortunately, because of Caitlin, she'd managed to find her cousin Jeremiah online, in turn Jonah and Jacob added her. Savannah also had her aunt Ruthie and Sarah listed as friends. Thankfully, neither of her aunts told her mother about her being on the site.

_You have two new messages_. The page alerted Savannah when she signed in. She clicked the mailbox icon and scrolled down to see what they were.

The first was from Jonah.

_Hey, Vana sup? Somethins goin' on here at home…don't wanna talk about it. So what you doing for Christmas? Gonna be around?_

Savannah sighed, clicking the reply button and typed a message back to her cousin.

_Jo, is it your father? Well I'm going skiing with Caitlin and her family the day after Christmas, will be back after New Years._

After sending the message, Savannah went several pages back to look at the other new message; it was from Ruthie.

_Hello, Savannah. It's almost that time of the year again, how are you doing? Peter and I are not coming out to Glen Oak this year, it's too hectic and we don't want the girls to have to go through the same thing when you were their age, it was unfair on you and it'd be unfair to make them sit through all that mess._

_I do have something that will make your Christmas better, I hope. Do you remember your cousin Charlie Rivera? He wrote a couple weeks ago and I pointed him to your Facebook page. Unfortunately he couldn't find you, so if you want to you can add him._

Savannah selected and copied the link her aunt provided, but before pasting the address she typed out a reply.

_I can't believe you, Peter, and the girls aren't going to be here! This Christmas is going to stink so badly without you guys here! Well, Thursday I'm going skiing with Caitlin but I don't know how I'm going to get through the next five days._

_Thanks, Aunt Ruthie. I really hope you will reconsider! Have a happy Christmas; give Taz and Zoe a hug from me!_

Savannah clicked the web address and pasted its clipboard contents.

A short minute later, the page opened up, the name in the headline read "Charlie Rivera" and the picture displayed a tall, well-built, lightly colored Hispanic with green eyes and curly golden blond hair.

"Oh my God!" Caitlin exclaimed. "_That's_ your cousin?"

Savannah nodded, not blinking or taking her eyes off the picture.

"Apparently so," she answered, still in shock.

"Wow, he is _gorgeous_!" Her best friend gasped, and the girls sat in silence. After a minute, Caitlin poked Savannah.

"Are you going to add him? It's kind of rude not to, you know?"

Savannah jumped and shook her head. "Yeah, of course I am!" She feigned annoyance and sent a friend request. After doing so, she logged out and returned to the bed.

The girls put on the TV and surfed for a few minutes before they landed on RTV, a television network once called "MTV" –or _Music Television._ It was changed to "RTV" in 2014. The _R _stood for _Reality. _

Opening credits for a show called _Twelve and Pregnant_ were playing.

"This has to be a joke." Caitlin said; putting down the remote and tilting the chair back.

"I agree, are these people for real? Who gets pregnant at twelve? And at that, who follows these kids, because they are _still_ kids, around all day long? What's so fascinating about preteen moms?"

"It's disgusting, but it's like watching a train wreck."

Savannah nodded in agreement. It was especially pathetic how these days girls were getting pregnant so young. There was nothing good about being a teen parent, and she got to see that first hand when her uncle got his girlfriend pregnant four years ago. They were sixteen and sophomores in high school, the minute she came over to the house announcing she and David would be parents, Savannah's grandparents haven't been able to look or trust David the same way again. The rest of the school year was changed for them; her uncle was put on restriction until he turned eighteen two Februarys ago. There weren't any after school activities for either one of them, and Savannah heard Melinda lost some of her friends and had to change schools. A short time afterwards, her parents got divorced, and when Melinda gave birth, she put the baby up for adoption. It would only be fair for the child and Savannah understood why. She also agreed it was like a train wreck; you can't help but talk about it or tune in. When Melinda was pregnant, Savannah kept going against her parent's request to leave it alone and asked questions at every opportunity about the pregnancy.

An announcement of a new email message took Savannah out of her thoughts.

Savannah opened her laptop and checked her mail.

_Charlie Rivera has accepted your friend request. Send a message!_

Another announcement came as Savannah was looking over her cousin's profile. A little red marker appeared next to the message button.

She clicked it and checked her new message. It was from Charlie.

_Hey, Savannah! It's been years, I know you probably hate me and I would understand. I've been with my dad, Puerto Rico is super awesome but I really miss my other family, especially Grandma Annie and you. Spoken with Aunt Ruthie a couple times, she doesn't really say much about the family except her, Peter and their girls. How's things with you, got any siblings yet? I am thinking of coming to the States for a visit over Christmas. Where are you guys now?_

Savannah composed a reply.

_Hey! It has been and no, I understand. I was just really hurt that you could just run away like that and leave me. We're still in Glen Oak but Grandma and Grandpa had to move, I can't possibly begin to explain that and everything else over a message. I would love for you to come to Glen Oak! But just take my word for it, you don't want to stay at my house; Grandma and Grandpa's house is small and you wouldn't want to be there. Can you even afford a flight here?_

Savannah sent the message and turned back to the TV show, which was now showing the pre-teen mother to be shopping for baby supplies.

"Seriously, these people are _happy_ she's pregnant?" Savannah asked in disbelief. When Melinda was pregnant, she'd heard 'Reverend's youngest child's girlfriend a whore' at least a dozen times a week.

"No, I'd say they're stoned."

There was a notification of a new message, Savannah checked it. Charlie had written back to her.

_Hey. I'm sorry about that, again. Oh, wow, sounds like it's really rough over there how do you even manage? Here's my cell number, so you can call me if you want._

Savannah pulled her cell phone from her pocketbook and added the number given to her contacts. Then she went to compose a reply.

_Hey, it's pretty hard to but I've got an amazing best friend and I don't spend that much time at home. Actually, I'm at Caitlin's, my best friend, right now. She's reading over this. Oh, and she thinks you're hot._

Caitlin gasped and slapped Savannah on the shoulder.

"You wouldn't!"

Savannah laughed and deleted the last sentence.

_So, yeah, I'll give you a call when I can. I added you to my contacts._

She pressed send and looked down at her cell phone.

* * *

Two days passed. Since it was a holiday weekend, and Savannah wouldn't be able to work over the next week because she was going skiing, she had filled in for a fellow co-worker to get her hours in. She hadn't heard from Charlie since that day. Then again, she hadn't been to Caitlin's or been on Facebook either.

She hadn't given him her cell phone number. Why hadn't she? That question had throbbed in her head since she had last spoken to him. Something about giving her cell phone number over the internet felt wrong to her. Heck, for all she knew it wasn't really her cousin. He had been in contact with her aunt Ruthie, though. Savannah trusted her aunt's judgment. _Still _it was the internet – as her mother would say. She couldn't help but be a little paranoid – being Lucy Kinkirk's daughter. Savannah shuddered a bit at the thought of her mother finding out that she was talking to _"Charlie" _on Facebook.

Her shift had just ended and she was standing near the bench waiting for her father to come pick her up. She had insisted on taking the bus, but her parents told her that was too dangerous. So, her father would pick her up every day at nine.

She pulled out her cell phone. Looking at the time, she realized it was only eight fifty-five. The manager had let her go a few minutes early. She sighed, rolling her eyes. He tended to do that often, and she hated it. That meant she had to stand outside in the cool breeze and _wait _for a ride. Another reason she couldn't wait to turn sixteen - she could have her driver's license. Nonetheless, that was still a whole year away!

A little envelope appeared in the center of her phone indicating she had a text message. _Charlie? _No, it couldn't be. He didn't have her phone number. Anxiously, she hovered over her inbox pulling up her text messages. It was from her father.

_Hey Savannah – it's Dad. There's been a robbery on the south side of town and I have to stay there patrolling. Don't tell your mother, but I'm giving you permission to take the bus. It leaves on 5__th__ Street around 9:15. Go STRAIGHT HOME. If you need me, call me. Love you sweetie, Dad._

Her eyes widened. She had been given permission to ride a bus _by herself. _Immediately, she began fiddling for change in her pocket as she walked toward 5th Street. The street was only around the corner from McDonalds, so she knew where she was going.

It was dark, and being the middle of December there was a chilly breeze. She pulled arms in her jacket holding her cell phone. There was a bench near the sign that read _Bus Stop. _Savannah made a run for the bench.

As she sat there, she pulled her cell phone out. She let out a sigh and began thinking. Moments later, she found herself scrolling through her contacts. Directly after _Caitlin _she saw his name. _Charlie. _Her eyes focused in the dark on her bright cell phone's screen. Her thumb slowly moved toward the green _Talk _button. She let out a deep sigh and pressed the button.

Her face felt like it was burning. She brought the cell phone up to her ear; its ringing rung through her ear. Her heart stopped when a deep voice answered, "Hello?" Her face felt sun burnt, though she knew it wasn't. "Hello?" the voice spoke again.

She opened her dry mouth. "H-Hello," she whispered. "Charlie?"

"This is he," the voice spoke.

"It's Savannah," she choked.

"Savannah! I've been waiting for your call. What took you so long?"

She blushed. "I had to work, didn't have a lot of time – sorry. I meant to call you sooner," she told him.

"It's okay," she could hear him chuckle a little.

"So, what were you saying about coming to Glen Oak?" she asked trying to strike up a conversation. Somehow, she felt so awkward speaking to her cousin she hadn't seen or heard from in seven years.

"I just flew in. It's funny you called now." Her heart stopped as a loud honk sounded. She looked up to see a big, blue city bus.

* * *

_Author's Note: _Expect the unexpected. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

The bus's door swung open. "Miss, are you coming?" a chubby male bus driver called over toward her. She nodded as she headed over to the bus, her hand still gripping onto her phone pressed against her ear. She was in shock. He's in Glen Oak! Charlie's in Glen Oak! How had he gotten here? Did his father know where he was? So many questions buzzed inside her head.

"Savannah?" Charlie's voice finally spoke after the awkward silence.

"Y-You are at the Glen Oak Airport?" she whispered into her phone as she walked up the steps of the bus.

"Yup, I sure am. My flight just got in about five minutes ago."

Her eyes widened. He's really here. "Stay put," she found herself saying. "I'm on my way." She put four quarters in the change box to pay for her fare and took the first seat behind the driver. The bus was literally empty, unlike the school bus she used to ride before becoming a cheerleading, back when she didn't have practices after school every day.

"What about your parents?" Charlie asked. "I'm fine, Savannah. I'll get a hotel and you can call me tomorrow, okay? It's late – you really should go home." He'll get a hotel room to himself at fifteen? Her jaw dropped. How on Earth could a fifteen year old pay for a hotel room by himself?

"No," she argued. "I'm coming. I'll be there in about ten minutes – meet me at the front door, okay?"

She heard him sigh. "Okay then. I can't wait to see you Savannah. I just don't want you to get in trouble."

"Yeah, whatever, they probably won't even notice I'm missing," she lied. She knew they would, particularly her mother. Savannah closed her eyes; she could imagine her crazy mother screaming, crying, and going on about Savannah not coming home. She was her only daughter and child. It didn't matter to Savannah. It had been too long since she had seen Charlie; she was not losing this chance.

"I'll see you soon then!"

They hung up. She noticed the bus driver glaring back at her through the rear-view mirror. "Where to, Miss?" he asked her, sounding a little annoyed.

"Glen Oak Airport," she replied hesitantly, biting her fingernails.

"You're not a run-a-way, are you? You look a little young to be going to the airport at this hour," the bus driver spoke hesitantly.

"I'm sixteen," she lied, "and I'm going to pick up my cousin. My parents told me to pick him up after I got done with work." She had a feeling that might be the just the beginning of a strain of lies.

"Okay," the bus driver spoke raising his eyebrows. She had a feeling he didn't believe her. It didn't matter to her.

Fortunately Savannah wasn't questioned any further for the rest of the drive to the airport. When the bus pulled up to the curb, she looked at her watch.

_9:20_, she had enough time to get Charlie and be at Caitlin's before anyone began really freaking out.

"Have a nice night," the bus driver nodded to Savannah as she stood and left.

Savannah looked at her cell phone. She noticed a text message from Charlie. It read, I'm at the front gate waiting! As she began heading toward the gate of the airport, she decided to give Caitlin a call.

"Hey, what's up?" she heard her best friend through the line.

"Caty, I'm on my way to your house. Remember my cousin Charlie? He's here, in Glen Oak!"

"What? Oh, my God. So why are you coming here?" she had to ask.

"I don't know. I just need to, and I'm going to bring him. Tell your mom, say he's a friend from out of town."

"You're in a car by yourself with a guy who claims he's your cousin?"

"No, I'm at the airport. I see him, look, I have to go, but please. Will you do me a favor?" She could hear Caitlin sigh. "Yeah, alright."

"Thanks!" Savannah hung up and put her phone away. She looked up to the crowd gathered around the baggage claim, but she didn't have to scan the crowd for Charlie. He was making his way to her.

"Hey." He said once they met. He had his hands deep in his pockets, feet shuffling, with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

Savannah's heart thudded. "Um, hey. So."

"So? What now? I don't want to stay with the family; I'm not ready to see them yet."

"Oh, well, um, we're going to my friend Caitlin's house. I have to be there before my parents start freaking, and I should be halfway home by now."

"We can meet tomorrow, really."

"No, come on, let's go." The two cousins went back out to the curbside pickup, where Savannah hailed a taxi. A blue taxi cab pulled up and the two sat in the backseat together. How are we going to pay for this? Savannah suddenly wondered. The thought hadn't crossed her mind. She patted her pocket, realizing she had used up all her last change on the bus ride over her here. She knew that taxis were not cheap like they were in New York. Even though she had only been four when she visited New York City, she could remember her mother commenting on how cheap taxis were in New York City compared to Glen Oak.

"You know, I can't stay at your friend's house," Charlie whispered to her. Savannah shrugged. She didn't know why she was dragging Charlie to Caitlin's house. She knew that Caitlin's would be the first house her parents would call when she didn't show up. If she were there, her parents would be less suspicious. It wouldn't be the first time she went to Caitlin's house without permission.

When the cab stopped, Charlie pulled out two twenty dollar bills and handed them to the cab driver. Savannah's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Where did he get that money? It didn't matter; she was relieved that the cab driver had been paid.

Caitlin was already waiting for them on her front steps. When she saw them, she sprung up and ran over to them. After seeing Charlie, she stopped dead. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened wide. She was drooling over Charlie's tone muscles.

Savannah placed her hand on her hip. "Hey Caitlin," she said.

Caitlin shook her head coming back to consciousness. "Savannah! What's going on here? Your mother just called asking for you. I told her you were here and planning on spending the night. When she asked for you, I said you were in the bathroom cleaning up. She said to have you call her immediately!" Caitlin rattled off.

Savannah let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll call my mom."

"Savannah Georgia Kinkirk!" Lucy's shrilling voice came across the line. "What do you think you're doing taking off on your own at this time of the night?"

"I come over to Caitlin's all the time, Mom. I'm fine, relax."

"Relax? How can I relax not knowing where my daughter, my only child, is at nine thirty at night! And what does Caitlin's mother say to you coming over at this hour?"

"She's fine with it. I'll be home in the morning."

"Excuse me?" Lucy shrieked. "I don't think so. I'm sending your father over there right now!"

Savannah huffed and rolled her eyes. _He told me to go straight home. _She shuddered at the thought of what her father might say. "Mom, there's no need to! I'll be home first thing tomorrow, I promise." Savannah pleaded.

"I can't believe you would do this on the weekend before Christmas!"

"I'm not doing anything. I'm just hanging out with my best friend, I'll be back!"

"I need you back now; your father is working all night."

You'll be fine Mom." Savannah said too quickly. But it was too late to take back those words. She winced when Lucy let out a loud wail. Caitlin and Charlie raised their brows.

"Savannah Kinkirk, how dare you say that to _your mother_? Fine, you can stay at Caitlin's tonight, but when you get home in the morning, we are going to have a long talk about this! And you can say goodbye to this ski trip you're going on!"

Savannah winced and snapped her phone shut, thereby ending the call with her hysterical mother.

"I'm screwed." Savannah turned to her best friend and long-lost cousin.

After Savannah hung up, Charlie called for a taxi to take him to the Glen Oak Inn. Again, it made her wonder how he could afford it. She just couldn't bother to ask.

The girls changed, Savannah borrowing a pair of pajamas from Caitlin's older sister, and talked shortly before going to sleep .The next morning; Kevin arrived to pick up his daughter.

"Your mother is really upset." He said, driving down the street towards their house. "I know, Dad." Savannah sighed. "You know how she gets at this time of the year."

"Mhm." Savannah was no longer listening. She had to get away; she knew what she'd face once she got home. And once she did, there was no way she was staying there for the next four days.

Her guess could not have been more right. As soon as she stepped through the front door, she was bombarded by Lucy's screams and tears.

"How dare you think you can do that to us, Savannah? What were you thinking_!_?"

"Sorry, it was last minute! And I always go over to Caitlin's, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal?" Lucy shrieked; Savannah withdrew a few steps back. "The big deal is that there was a crime a few blocks away from your work, you just hop on a bus instead and go to Caitlin's? The bus stops on the same street!"

"No, it doesn't. And nothing happened! See? I'm fine and I can take care of myself!"

"You're my only child and just fourteen! Fourteen, Savannah, you should not be walking outside that late at night!"

"I'll be fifteen next month! And I told you, I'm fine!" Savannah protested. She didn't see the big deal. There was no harm done. They needed to realize that she wasn't a child anymore.

Lucy groaned in frustration, tears streaming down her face. "You're grounded, until further notice."

Savannah's eyes widened "What? That's not fair!"

"I have to say, it's perfectly fair. Room, now."

The teenager crossed her arms, refusing. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Lucy looked over to her husband, rolling her eyes. "Kevin! Say something!"

"I'd listen to your mother, Vannah." Her father gave her a stern look, showing agreement with Lucy. He always let her walk all over him. How he coped with her mother, Savannah would never understand. Savannah scoffed and stormed off to her room.

"Whatever!" she shouted before slamming her door shut.

She couldn't believe this, she hated the Christmas holidays with each passing year and this was shaping up to be the worst one ever. The day went by slower than she could ever remember, she wouldn't come out for lunch or dinner, she wasn't hungry and she sure didn't want to see her parents.

Shortly before ten, the door opened for the first time in hours.

"Savannah." Kevin's voice began. Savannah glanced over briefly to her father and looked at him silently.

"Your mom wishes to deadbolt the door shut. I don't exactly agree with her but this is what she wants and what I will be doing. I'll unlock the door in the morning."

Savannah jumped off her desk chair.

"_What_? You've got to be kidding me! Dead bolt the door!"

Kevin nodded.

"'Fraid so, Lucy doesn't trust you Savannah. Night, Sweetie." His voice sounded loving, yet there was a hunk of irony to it. _He acts like there's nothing wrong with this!_

With that, Kevin left the room. Savannah could heard clanking and a buckling outside her door and threw her pillow in frustration.

This was beyond ridiculous. She did _not_ need to be locked up in her room! What the hell was the matter with her mother? She understood she's had a rough time with children, then getting rejected by the parishioners, and so on, but that gave her no right to be doing this! Savannah was just like any other teenager, hell more than half of them acted worse than the way she did.

After a while, the girl realized her windows weren't bolted shut and began packing her bags. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to get away. Far away, for how long she didn't know.

She couldn't stay at Caitlin's, she'd already gotten her best friend in some trouble and she felt just terrible. There was one place she knew she could go...

_Fifteen minutes passed._

Savannah got out of the cab and the person waiting for her paid the driver the fare.

He took the duffel bag from the girl and put an arm over her shoulder, the pair going inside.

"Thanks, Charlie." Savannah smiled, falling in to her cousin's comforting chest.


	5. Chapter 5

If you recognize any copyrighted names and titles in this and previous chapters, it does not belong to us.

* * *

Charlie Rivera was freaking out. So much had evolved since he had wiped his college fund to come out to Glen Oak immediately. His father would find out where he was Monday morning when he didn't come home from "jetting with friends", and would probably call his mother, whom was in Florida married to another man. He couldn't afford to come out on Glen Oak with what he had; he was only a fifteen year old high school student who hadn't begun working yet. His father would be furious for another reason, taking all the money out from his college savings, which had at least three thousand in it. Now he was at a hotel across the American continent, with unexpected company.

His cousin, Savannah. The same cousin he left seven years earlier without an explanation as to where he was going. He knew she probably understood why, but he knew she didn't understand how he could just up and leave like that, and at a young age at that. He regretted never getting the chance to tell her when he wanted to that Christmas, barely a week before he took off for Puerto Rico. He had to return to find her like this, and it just made everything worse.

Coming to Glen Oak now was not in his original plans. They had been somewhat last minute, but he knew he had to do it. Now, he was glad he did. It had all started with him adding his aunt Ruthie. He had been surfing Facebook one day, and just randomly, he decided to search for his Camden relatives. He was at that age, where he wanted to connect back with his family. Still, he had no desire to connect with his mother – she had basically abandoned him.

The first name he had typed in was: _Savannah Kinkirk. _His heart dropped with sadness when _No Results _came up. He had sighed with disappointment. Then, he remembered his aunt Ruthie – his mother's sister. He couldn't remember her married last name, so he typed in _Ruthie Camden _and there she came up: _Ruthie Camden-Petrowski. _Even though it had been seven years, he recognized her dark brown eyes from that last day in Glen Oak when his mother had drug him away. Courageously, he added her.

A couple of weeks passed, and she finally sent him a message. He remembered it clearly, still.

_Charlie? Are you Charles Miguel Rivera, for real? It's been years, gosh, we thought we'd never hear from you again. Hope everything is okay with you. I hear you're in Puerto Rico. I haven't spoken to your mother in years, either. We definitely should catch up. Message me back, okay? I'm sorry I took so long to respond to your friend request – I've been super busy. I'm a psychologist. I promise I'll respond faster now that I'm on a week's vacation for the holidays. _

_Love, Aunt Ruthie_

He had chuckled a little at her message as he began to compose a reply. Chills rushed through his body as his fingers froze over the keyboard. At first, he didn't know what to say. He couldn't believe he was doing it – connecting with long-lost relatives over the internet.

Charlie had typed:

_Yes, it's really me. I go by Charlie still… I'm fifteen years old now (sixteen in May)… still living in Puerto Rico with my dad. I like it down here a lot. I just thought maybe I'd try to get connected with my mother's family again…though I don't want to talk to her. Please don't try to contact her and tell her I'm talking…er, typing…to you. _

_So, how's your daughter? Wasn't she like, three months, when I last saw her? Did you and your husband have any more? What about my other uncle…Matt, wasn't that his name? And the gay one? My mother's family is so big, and I was only seven, it's hard to remember everyone._

_I tried searching for Savannah… how's she doing? I feel so badly for just abandoning her like I did. I'd really like to get back in contact with her, specifically. Does she have Facebook? I take it not. I'd love to get back in touch with you all. _

Only moments later, he had received:

_I'm glad you're okay, and it's great to hear from you again. I'm sure Savannah would love to hear from you too. Actually, yes, she has Facebook. Her mother doesn't allow her to have it, though – so she's gotten it hidden from being searched. I'll give her that message and let her add you, okay?_

_Yup, our family is big – I understand. It has been too many years. Natasha – they call her Taz – is seven now. She's very clever for her age. Then, two years ago, we had another daughter. Her name is Zoe, but we call her Zoey. _

_We're living in Ohio now – everything with the family and all got too hectic. I didn't want my girls brought up around it. Simon and his boyfriend, Ronald, are living out East now with their adopted daughter. Last I heard, Matt and Sarah aren't doing too well. Their twins are thirteen and Jake is nine. Matt lost his job, but I'd rather not go into much more detail. _

_Lucy – your other aunt, Savannah's mom – is a wreck. She lost her job as the minister of the Glen Oak Church to Chandler Hampton. Kevin, her husband, is back on the police force and hardly ever around. She's so depressed, but I shouldn't go into too much more detail. I'll let Savannah tell you, okay?_

_Hope to talk to you later! Love, Aunt Ruthie_

His heart had thudded with nerves. _Poor Savannah, _he remembered thinking. Things did not sound good. He suddenly felt _glad _to have had grown up away from all of it. Still, he felt bad for Savannah. He should have been there to support her.

About a half hour later, his heart jumped with glee when he saw he had a new friend request. _Savannah Kinkirk, _his eyes read across the screen. He grinned widely as he accepted her friend request.

He remembered his first messages with his cousin after all those years. Something about them felt wrong. _You don't want to stay at my house, _she had said. Why not? He could tell something had to be wrong at home. _I don't spend a lot of time there. _Something was wrong. He couldn't pinpoint it, but something was.

When she didn't text him over the next couple of days, he started to worry. He sat on it a couple of days, trying to push the thought to the back of his head. She hadn't given him her number, so he couldn't call her. The Kinkirk family was unlisted in the phonebook, so he couldn't find their number there. He thought about asking Ruthie for more details, but then he would sound like he was prying and being nosy. After all, it was the internet.

Desperate time called for desperate measures. Here he was.

An hour passed since he picked up the tearful teenager. By now, she'd stopped crying and the two were watching television silently, with Savannah sniffing every now and then. Suddenly, Savannah let out a loud sigh and stood up.

"What's wrong?" Charlie stood and shut off the television.

"Nothing," she yawned, "just really tired."

"C'mon, let's get you to bed."

"Um, I don't have any pajamas."

"You can borrow mine." Charlie turned and went to the room in which the bed was. Savannah followed him.

"There's only one bed."

"Oh… yeah." Charlie scratched his hair. "Well, I can sleep on the couch."

"Are you sure?" She asked with a twinkle in her round blue eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He said, retrieving some pajamas for his cousin to wear. "Here you go." Charlie handed over the flannel bottoms and short-sleeved top.

"Thanks." Savannah smiled and went to the bathroom to change. Charlie returned to the living room and pulled some extra linens and sheets out of the closet. After making sure Savannah was settled in, he made himself comfortable on the couch and fell asleep.

The next morning, Charlie awoke to one new text message from his father.

_Hola, hijo, me temo que podría ser el regreso a casa tarde de hoy. __Te veré esta noche. _

Charlie gulped nervously; he knew he was supposed to be coming home from his trip today. He was given a few hours for now, but when night came and his father got home to see he wasn't there…

He wondered what would happened, what would he do or say? To begin with, he'd ask around, get in touch with his friends and ask if they'd seen him. There wouldn't be anything to really be concerned about until he spoke with Manuel, the friend he was supposed to go jet-skiing with, and learn that he'd never went on the trip. Then there'd be something to panic about.

Carlos would get in touch with his grandparents the next town over, in Minillas, and tell them he couldn't find his son. He'd call the aunts, uncles and cousins, ask if they'd seen him. They'd all say the same thing: they hadn't seen him.

_Hola, papá, te veré esta noche._

Charlie pressed send on his phone and got off the couch, heading to the kitchen to get himself some breakfast. He was sitting down at his computer, having finished eaten, when the bedroom door opened.

"What are you doing up so early?" Savannah asked, rubbing her eyes. The clock on the oven read 4:38.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you? It's later in Puerto Rico, go back to bed."

Savannah shook her head, sitting at the table.

"I have to get back home, my dad will be waking up soon."

"Okay, and?" Charlie pressed on.

Savannah laughed.

"Well, if I don't go, you'll be seeing my face on the six o'clock news."

Charlie raised his brows.

"Seriously?"

Savannah nodded, letting out a sigh.

"They freak out over the smallest things." Savannah bit her lips. Charlie could tell she was leaving something out.

"Is there more?"

"Yeah, but it's not important."

Charlie remained silent, watching Savannah head back to the bedroom. A couple seconds passed and he followed her in.

"I can't let you go."

Savannah turned and looked over to her cousin.

"What?"

"I can't let you go, Savannah."

"Excuse me?"

"You came over here late last night, in tears, and cried for over an hour. I can't let you go home, whatever happened there must've been so terrible to drive you here like and I don't want you to go back to it."

"I have to, Charlie."

"They may not know where you are, but you'll be safer here."

"Are you kidding? When my parents find my bed empty I'll be far from safe."

"Not if they can't find you."

"What about you? What about your dad, he is going to find out that you're not home and haven't been all weekend!"

Charlie shrugged.

"It'll be a while before he figures it out."

Savannah shook her head. "And how long is a while?"

"Until tonight… or the morning," Charlie sighed, hesitantly. He realized that wasn't exactly _awhile._

"In the morning? Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! You're going to put your family through that on Christmas Eve?"

"He'll have figured it out by then."

"He's going to call your mom, she's going to fly out here, and especially when she hears I'm missing."

Charlie shook his head.

"If she doesn't care about me, then she doesn't care about anyone else in her family except for her husband and maybe daughters."

"Whether she does or not isn't the point. The point is you won't be where you're supposed to be and I won't be where I'm supposed to be on Christmas."

"Why do you keep arguing?" Charlie stepped closer. Savannah made eye contact with him, her blue meeting his green.

"I don't know," she let out a heavy sigh and laughed shortly, "I mean, I don't want to go back home. But it feels wrong to not to."

"Being here is the right thing for you, Savannah; for now, at least." He wrapped his arm around her, rubbing her shoulders gently.

"What about when I do go back home, then what?" she cried, not pushing him away. Instead, she moved a little closer.

Charlie shrugged, "We'll worry about that when the time comes. Come on, let's get back to bed." He motioned her toward the bed.

"Really?" she looked a little unsure.

"Yeah, really." Charlie pulled the sheets back and motioned for Savannah to get in. She obliged and Charlie followed after her, putting an arm protectively around her.

Charlie woke several hours later, it was bright by now. Savannah was still in his arms, sound asleep, Charlie couldn't help but run a hand through her hair. He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and slowly moved away, careful not to wake her up.

He got out of bed and pulled back the covers, tucking her in securely before going over to draw the shades shut. Charlie closed the door carefully behind him and made his way to the TV, putting it on a local channel. It was close to nine now, one of those daytime talk shows would be on now.

However, Regis and Kelly did not come on the screen. It was _breaking news_ from ABC-7, Glen Oak's local news station, stating there was an Amber Alert. Charlie snapped his eyes to the television when he heard a familiar name. When he saw the familiar face, he about died.

It was a picture of Savannah, a horrible one at that; but a picture nonetheless. She looked younger; like it could have been last year's school picture. Her hair was braided like Pippi Longstocking's; she wore a baby-blue blouse; and she wore a cheesy grin as if she were saying_, "Cheese." _ Her eyes struck him as remarkable. Even though she was smiling, her dazzling blue eyes wore sadness like they had when he picked her up the night before.

Wow, Savannah had not been kidding. He quickly shut off the television; he could not let his cousin see her face on the TV screen.


	6. Chapter 6

**Lucy – approximately 6 AM | December 23****rd**** 2019**

Lucy Kinkirk awoke at the break of dawn feeling nauseous, something that had been happening a lot lately. It was probably just nerves, she thought as she made her way to the bathroom to relieve the previous night's dinner.

Raising a fourteen year old daughter with a husband who was hardly around was no easy task. There were days when Lucy just wanted to give up on life and crawl into bed, never to see daylight again.

She felt a bit bad that she locked Savannah in her bedroom, it was rather a little over the top. Sure she have had five miscarriages and lost multiple pairs of babies, which led Savannah to be more precious to her, but that gave her no right to do what she'd done. Once she rinsed her mouth out, Lucy decided to go check on her only daughter.

It took a minute to undo the dead bolts, Lucy was about to give up on them and break the door down when the latch finally became undone. She untied the chain and opened the door slowly, careful not to wake up Savannah.

However, instead of seeing her daughter in bed, she found it empty with the sheets pulled down. Lucy's eyes widened in panic and moved to the window: it was opened,

"Kevin!" She cried. "Kevin, come here!"

Almost immediately, her husband was by her side rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Luce—" He began, but saw what was wrong: the empty bed and opened window.

"Savannah's gone! I know she couldn't have run away, she would _never_ run away!" Lucy wailed.

Kevin pulled his wife close and left the room, reaching for the phone, to call down to the station. Lucy leaned in close so she could hear the officer on the phone.

"Glen Oak police department, how may we help you tonight?"

"This is Detective Kevin Kinkirk…our daughter, Savannah, is missing."

"All right, when did you last see her? What was she wearing?"

"We last saw her when she went to bed. Um…" Kevin looked down to his wife, Lucy shrugged. She couldn't remember what Savannah was wearing. She was too busy being angry at her only child. The thought of her being hurt tore her open and she let out a wail.

"She was wearing a sweat suit," Kevin said with a tremble in his voice. Lucy closed her eyes, trying to picture her daughter the last time she had seen her. It was such a blur; Lucy had been so upset with her that she hadn't taken the time to capture her daughter's last appearance.

"We'll put out an alert for her. Do you and your wife have a recent picture of her?"

"Yeah, her school picture, we'll bring it down soon."

"We will call if we hear anything."

"Thanks." Kevin sighed and hung up; Lucy clung close to her husband, still quivering in senseless wails. He rubbed her back gently. "We should call your family," he whispered, "maybe they'll be able to help us."

_She wouldn't run away_, Lucy told herself. Then again, they _had_ locked her up with that fear. _Savannah couldn't run away, she was locked in_. The window… Lucy pushed the thought away of Savannah wanting to abandon her own loving mother. _She had to have been kidnapped_; her heart felt like it was stabbed with a sword.

**Eric – approximately 15 minutes later**

The phone ringing disrupted Eric Camden from his sleep. He looked at the set on the nightstand in the dimly-lit room; it read 6:14. There was no dot by the little words _pm_, indicating it was morning.

_Who would be calling at this hour_? He wondered, reaching for the phone and answering. "Camden residence," The former Reverend spoke, his voice full of sleep.

"Dad, this is Kevin, is Mom there?"

"I think she's in the shower, what's wrong?"

"I have some bad news." He could hear the fear in his son-in-law's tone, which completely woke him up.

"What is it?" Eric asked, now sitting up in bed, pulling the covers back.

"It's Savannah, has she been by to see you?"

"No, I don't think so. What's going on?"

"Could you ask Mom?"

"Yeah, I will. Kevin, what happened?" Eric went to the bathroom door and knocked, waiting for an answer from his wife.

"Well," Kevin started with hesitation in his voice, but did not get to continue for Annie answered on the other side of the bathroom door.

"Yes?"

"Have you seen Savannah?" The reverend asked his wife. A couple seconds passed before the door was opened and Annie peeked out wearing a bathrobe and curlers in her hair.

"No, I haven't. Why?"

"What happened, Kevin?" Eric asked his son-in-law for the third time.

"Well, when Lucy and I went to check on her, her bed was undone and her window was open." Kevin seemed to be leaving something out.

"Uh-huh." He was uncertain, there was something being left unsaid but he didn't dwell on it.

"What is it?" Annie asked her husband with growing curiosity.

"Savannah's missing."

Annie's eyes widened and she gasped.

"I have to go see Lucy!" She cried, pushing past her husband and getting out her clothes.

"Have you called the station, Kevin?"

"Yes, I did, I'm on my way to bring them a recent picture of her."

"Good, we'll all be on the lookout for Savannah. Don't worry, we'll find her." He reassured his son in law.

"I hope so. See you soon." Kevin hung up. Eric sighed, hanging up the phone and left the bedroom.

His eldest granddaughter was missing, how could it be? So she had to have been kidnapped, that's what it seemed like. But there was something wrong with the picture, Savannah wouldn't be the type of teenager to just up and run away from home. Then there was hesitation in Kevin's voice, did he know something else? Did Lucy know what that was? Those thoughts ran through Eric's mind as he got breakfast, but he decided that he would keep them to himself for now.

**Sarah**

Sarah Glass-Camden stared out the window frantically; this was the third time in a week her husband did not return home the night before. Anger throbbed within her veins. Her sons were beginning to ask questions, no longer believing that he was working all night. Oh, he worked late, well into the early hours of pre-dawn, but never all night.

Of course, that was all before he lost his medical license a few years back. Matt had had several different jobs since _it _had happened, and none of them required him working nights. Sarah made sure of that, she wanted her husband home to spend time with her and their sons.

Footsteps took her out of her thoughts. Sarah looked up to see Jeremiah and Jonah come tumbling down the stairs, baggy sweats and back packs slung over their shoulders.

"Mom, I'm gonna stay at the library today after school." Jonah informed his mother and got himself some cereal.

Jeremiah remained quiet while he took out some left over pancakes they'd made over the weekend. Sarah knew he was taking it the hardest, whenever she and Matt had a fight, he'd storm off angrily. He was never quiet about their frequent arguments, while Jonah was. Jeremiah would remain home and do God knows what while Jonah would escape, using almost anything as an excuse to stay away for as long as possible.

"That's fine, don't forget we're meeting your grandparents tonight," Sarah told them.

"Don't worry. I'll be home by four." Jonah told his mother and began to eat. Jeremiah followed shortly after.

"Mom, is Dad coming home?" Jeremiah asked, frustration evident in his voice, Sarah never missed it.

"Yes, I'm going to make sure he's home tonight." Sarah told her son sternly.

"Good." Jeremiah began eating. Soon after, the eldest two were off to catch the bus for their last day of school. The high schools were already out. Because of the added teacher in-service days the elementary and middle schools had, they had to go up right until the day before Christmas Eve.

Just as she was getting ready to walk out the door with Jacob to drop him off for school, the phone rang. _Matt? _She reached for the phone, halting her son for a second. "Hello?"

"Sarah? It's Kevin," Kevin's voice – a little panicked – came into her ear.

"Can this wait? I have to get to work," Sarah said a bit rushed.

"Sarah, Savannah's missing. We think she's been kidnapped. But I'm calling all of her friends and relatives, is there any chance she's over there?"

Did he just say what she thought he had? Savannah was _missing_? Did he say _kidnapped_? Sarah's mouth dropped open dryly. "N-No, she's not here. I would have called you if she was." Her head began to spin. "Did you call the police?" She felt weird asking him that, since he _was _the police.

"Yeah, I've called down to the station. They're doing an amber alert. Call me if you hear from her, okay?"

"You know I will, but I have to get to work now," Sarah rushed, hanging up the phone. She felt guilty for heading off to work with her niece missing. With Matt not there to support her and the boys, all they had to depend on was her income.

Before she headed off, she turned to Jacob. "Honey, you can go to the car. I'll be right out, okay?" she instructed him.

Jacob nodded looking inquisitive. He followed his mother's instructions and left for the car. Quickly, Sarah grabbed for the phone and dialed Ruthie's number.

After she got off the phone with Ruthie, she ran out the door. Once she dropped Jacob off for school, she headed off to work. Of course, she'd try not to focus on the fact her husband hadn't returned yet and that her niece was missing. She left a voice mail for Matt informing him of Savannah and telling him he needed to get home _now_; he hadn't gotten back to her as of lunch time. She turned down the offer to go out for lunch by a friend, Kelly.

"Have a good Christmas." Sarah waved her friend farewell. She didn't know if she'd be back from her little planned adventure before work would end. After all, for her, tomorrow was not a holiday; but for Kelly, it was. Between Matt and Savannah, Sarah's mind could not rest.

Sarah pulled out of the pediatric center's lot, taking a turn towards the town. She had a feeling she knew where he was and if she was proven right, she'd never forgive him.

How could he do that to her? They'd been married for seventeen years, they had three wonderful children. She had thought getting through medical school and residency married, then having twins just before beginning residency, would be the most difficult thing she'd ever have to deal with. She was proven wrong now.

Just how wrong, she had no idea.

_One year earlier, Christmas 2018_

_"Boys, come on!" Sarah called up the stairs, seconds later Jacob came thundering down the steps._

_"Ready, Mom!" He chirped, his eight-year old self could not wait to open the mountain loads of presents at his grandparents. He had the best of both worlds, Hanukkah and Christmas, not many children had that._

_Sarah laughed, ruffling her son's hair. She looked up to see Jeremiah and Jonah coming down the steps, talking in hushed whispers._

_"What's going on, boys?" Sarah inquired of her eldest two._

_The twins exchanged glances and looked at her mother, standing with a brow raised and hands on her hips._

_"Nothing." Jeremiah sighed._

_"Mom, what's incense?" Jonah asked._

_"What? Why do you ask?"_

_"Because that's what the funny smell is coming from the bathroom. I asked my friend what it was for; they said drug addicts use it. Is that true?"_

_Sarah's eyes widened._

_"Boys, go to Ellie's right now. I'll be over to get you shortly."_

_"But Mom—." Jonah began to protest but Sarah interrupted sternly._

_"Now! Go, all three of you. Hold your brother's hand!" Sarah called after her oldest two as the three walked out the door. Once she was sure they were gone, she groaned in frustration and ran up stairs. Sure enough, the heavy smell of incense lingered in the children's bathroom. The bathroom which her three preteen boys, two age twelve and one age eight, used._

_She peeked in her room, it was empty. They had a guest room—in the event the boys had a friend sleep over—where sure enough Matt was, laid out muttering to himself._

_"Matt!"_

_"Dude!" Matt cried, sitting up on the bed. Sarah stepped closer and forced her husband to look her in the eye._

_It was incense burning in the bathroom, Matt's eyes were unfocused and red, the classic symptom of being stoned._

**Ruthie | Ohio**

Two-year-old Zoey giggled as her mother wiped the oatmeal off of her chin. Ruthie smiled proudly at her little girl. Through her children, Ruthie was reminded of her old child hood innocence. Zoey and Natasha reminded her of herself so much when she was younger.

They were fortunate to live so far away from the ruckus. She felt awful for her niece and nephews who had to endure it every day. Sometimes, Ruthie wished she could just fly out to California and scope the four kids up and take them home with her – or at least Savannah.

Though, from what she had heard Matt and Sarah's situation wasn't much better. Sarah called her frequently, and the kids were in contact with her on Facebook. None of them would go into great detail, though. It had been months since Ruthie had been in contact with her eldest brother. She had left him a few messages, but he never returned them.

There was nothing Ruthie could do, being all the way in Ohio. She knew as long as Lucy was alive, she would never permit her to take Savannah across the country with her. It wasn't like she and Peter didn't have the room. Taz especially adored her older cousin. Zoey was too young to really remember their last visit to Glen Oak – last Christmas.

_Matt had just lost his license, leaving the family in utter shock. Nobody could believe the family's success story had lost it all like that. Ruthie had known the holiday itself would be holiday, just for that. With Lucy losing her job at the church to that Chandler Hampton; then Matt – things didn't seem like they could get much worse in Glen Oak. Then there were all of Lucy's miscarriages weighing in._

_Nonetheless, she and Peter had insisted on going. It wasn't right for them to keep the girls away from their grandparents. After all, it wasn't her parents' fault all of that had happened. Peter and Ruthie had arrived at her parents' new, much smaller, house on Christmas Eve expecting the worst. _

_All hell had broken out before the holiday festivities had even remotely begun. Lucy had busted in moments later crying, "Oh woe is me." Savannah and Kevin followed behind her. Immediately, Ruthie felt sorry for Savannah – only thirteen at the time. _

_Savannah had wrapped her arms around Taz; they hadn't seen each other since the previous Christmas. "Savannah, come help me in the kitchen. Now," Lucy had screeched toward her daughter only moments later._

"_But Mom, can't I play with Taz and Zoe? I never get to see them," Savannah had begged._

"_Savannah, you're my only daughter," Lucy spoke calmly. "I need your help; I don't have any other children to help me." Lucy scoffed toward Ruthie. _

"_But—."_

"_No ifs, ands, or buts! Come on, Savannah," Lucy cut in. _

"_Lucy, don't you think—," Ruthie had started._

"_You, stay out of this, Miss Perfect!" Lucy snapped at her youngest sister. _

_Savannah sulked with sad eyes toward her aunt and disappeared into the kitchen with her mother. Only a little while later, Sarah and the boys arrived. Ruthie had greeted her sister-in-law and nephews with hugs. _

"_Where's Matt?" Ruthie had asked. _

_Sarah let out a sigh. Ruthie could instantly tell something was wrong. "Let's just say—well, I don't think he'll be joining us." Ruthie frowned at those words. She had been hoping to at least see her brother. Though, she understood what he had to be going through having lost his job under such circumstances. _

_Taz beaded off with her cousins; Jeremiah, Jonah, and Jacob. Peter had gone off with Kevin with the hopes of digging up some information. In the meantime, Ruthie sat on the couch with Sarah trying to do the same. Nonetheless, Sarah wouldn't tell her much. She had said Matt would disappear for whole nights at a time; then show up like nothing was wrong. She wouldn't tell her what she suspected what he was doing during those nights away._

_Then it happened. A loud bang sounded from upstairs. Sarah and Ruthie sprung off the couch; Ruthie still with Zoey in her arms. The two ran upstairs. By the time they got up there, Peter and Lucy were already standing in the doorway of their parents' bedroom._

_Lucy spun around. "Where were you, Ruthie? Why weren't you watching your kid? You know what? I should turn you in for child abuse!" _

_Ruthie didn't know what she was talking about until she looked in her parents' bedroom to see Taz on the floor crying. She had apparently run into the now broken antique lamp in the bedroom. Her knee was bleeding and Kevin had already grabbed the First Aid kit ts and was doctoring it up. _

_Jonah, Jeremiah, and Jacob were pushed in the corner. When they saw their mother, they ran over to her. "It wasn't our fault! We swear. We were playing cops-and-robbers and Taz ran in here, then we heard the big bang!" Jacob cried grabbing his mother's waist with fright._

_Sarah stroked her son's head. "Don't worry; it's not your fault." _

_Ruthie handed Zoey to Peter and rushed over to comfort her whimpering daughter. "She's going to be fine," Kevin assured Ruthie. He smiled weakly at his niece, "All she has are a few cuts and bruises."_

Phew_, Ruthie thought as she hugged Taz._

"_That's not going to bring Mom's vase back! Ruthie, you need to teach your daughter _not _to run in the house!" Lucy snapped. Then she turned to Sarah and commented snidely, "And I wonder where she learned that from."_

_Sarah let out a gasp. "Don't you _ever _accuse my sons of being a bad influence? Haven't you ever heard of the phrase _boys will be boys_?" _

_Lucy scoffed. "I'm the only one in this family who knows how to parent children. You're all mad. I swear; I don't understand why God gives children to ungrateful parents and not to those who really deserves them!" Lucy stormed out of the room._

_It was then Ruthie realized how mad her sister really had become; she decided then and there that she didn't want Taz and Zoey to be exposed to Lucy's madness. _

Ruthie's smile draped as she remembered the events from that Christmas. That had only been the beginning of the apocalypse.

Her mood lightened when her seven-year-old bounced into the room for breakfast. Last Friday had been the last day of school of the year for her second grader. Ruthie was happy to have both of her children home at ten o'clock in the morning. She also knew Taz was happy to be able to sleep in a little. "Good Morning Mommy!" Taz chirped as she gave Ruthie a hug and kissed her little sister on the forehead. "Is Daddy still asleep?"

"Yes, Sweetie," Ruthie responded as she placed her finger over her mouth. "Shh, we don't want to wake him."

"Okay!" Taz whispered. "What's for breakfast?"

Ruthie laughed a little. "Well, you could have oatmeal like Zoey…"

"Ew! No!" Taz cried. "Oatmeal is yucky!"

Ruthie laughed at her daughter. "How about I make you some scrambled eggs?" She remembered those mornings her own mother had made her scrambled eggs for breakfast.

"Yay!" Taz exclaimed. "I like scrambled eggs."

"I thought you'd like that," Ruthie grinned toward her daughter as the phone rang. She turned to her daughter, "One minute, let Mommy get the phone." Ruthie reached for the phone. "Hello, Petrowski residence?"

"Ruthie, it's Sarah," her sister-in-law's voice trembled into the receiver.

"Oh hey, Sarah! How are you?" Ruthie spoke into the receiver, her eyebrows rose with shock. She hadn't been expecting a phone call from her sister-in-law at this hour. It was only six o'clock in Glen Oak.

"Stressed, but that's a story for another time," Sarah told her, "Look, I don't know if you've talked to Kevin lately, but Savannah's missing. I thought I should give you a heads up. Kevin seems to think she was kidnapped. Though, something was shaky in his voice – like there was something he wasn't telling me."

"Wait – slow down!" Ruthie cried. _Savannah's missing? _Her heart stopped. _Kidnapped?_

"I've got to go to work and get the kids to school – it's their last day. I'll call you later, Ruthie."

"Wait—." The phone line went dead. Ruthie's mouth dried up as she slowly hung up the phone. Turning around, her two-year-old and seven-year-old were staring at her blankly.

"What's wrong?" Taz immediately noticed something was wrong.

Ruthie faked a smile; the last thing she needed to do was to worry her daughter. "Nothing, Baby. You still want scrambled eggs, right?"

"Yes!" Taz screeched. "Can I have melted cheese on them too?"

"Of course," Ruthie laughed as she tried to push the thought of her niece missing out of her head. She couldn't. _Savannah's missing_. She had to do something, and she couldn't do something while being in Ohio. _What if she wasn't kidnapped? What if she ran away? What if she ran away to come here? _She couldn't believe that her fourteen-year-old niece would get a plane ticket all the way to Ohio on her own. Then again, her nephew had at the age of eight. _Savannah's not Charlie, though. _Maybe, just maybe, Lucy had pulled the last straw…


	7. Chapter 7

**Kevin**

Nearly twenty-four hours had passed since Lucy had found Savannah's bed empty and untouched. It was three in the morning on Christmas Eve and Kevin lied awake in his empty bed. Lucy was over at her parents' house. Since Savannah's disappearance, Lucy had been unable to bear stepping foot in their house again.

Savannah's disappearance was affecting everyone in the family; particularly Annie and Lucy. Neither could focus properly. They had spent the day frantically sitting by the phone waiting for a phone call from the station waiting for news. No news had come.

Kevin had spent the entire day calling her friend and family, scoping out places Savannah liked to hang out, and checking in down at the station for any leads. All of the above had lead to dead ends. Savannah was nowhere to be found. At eleven o'clock that night, Chief Michaels had ordered him to go home and get some rest. _Right, _Kevin had thought. How did the chief expect him to _rest _when his only child was missing?

Lucy had convinced her mother that Savannah had been kidnapped. Kevin and Lucy both knew that one small detail had been left out – dead bolting her door. Kevin knew his daughter had not been kidnapped. She had run away, and honestly, he couldn't blame her. Still, the thought of his daughter being alone in the cold, dark world scared him. She was only fourteen; she couldn't take care of herself.

He closed his eyes to see his daughter's frail oval face alone in the dark. She looked so much like her mother. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. He wanted to reach his arm out to her and let her know everything would be okay. Daddy would be there for her.

But he wasn't. He was still lying in his empty hot bed in an empty house without his wife and daughter. There was nothing he could do for Savannah. _This is my entire fault, _Kevin told himself. If only he had stood up to his wife. If only he had defended his daughter. If only… it wasn't too late. He didn't have the courage to stand up to his own wife.

Savannah had always been mature for her age, though. Knowing that gave him some sort of peace of mind. He couldn't blame his daughter for wanting to escape. If he were her, he knew that he would run away too. However, Kevin knew that he couldn't even mention the idea of Savannah running away to his wife. She would freak. The idea of Savannah running away to her felt like betrayal. Apparently, she would rather have a serial rapist kidnap her daughter, than have her betray her own mother. Being a cop, Kevin felt completely different. He didn't even want to fathom the thought of his daughter in the hands of a complete stranger.

Sweat dripped from his face. He stretched his legs out trying to reach some comfort, but he found none. He grabbed his wife's pillow and stuffed it under his neck searching for sleep. Next, he tried counting sheep. _One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight… _forget it. His thoughts drifted right back to his daughter. She was alone in the cold at Christmas.

He stretched his legs out of bed to open the window to let some air in. It was December and still sixty degrees outside in the middle of winter. The weather in California had been one of Kevin's biggest adjustments when he had moved from New York to California around seventeen years ago to be with Lucy. _Was it the wrong decision? _He wondered. Kevin tried to imagine his life now had he told Lucy, _"No." _What if he had ended the relationship right then and there? The thought made him shiver. When he thought about it, there was only one positive that had come out of his relationship with Lucy. Savannah.

And she was gone.

He glanced back at the clock. It read _3:02. _Where was his daughter sleeping? Was she on a park bench somewhere? Had she gotten herself a plane ticket and flown somewhere. She didn't have any money. How could she do that? Then it hit him. She had just gotten her first job. When had she gotten her first pay check? If she had her first pay check, surely she would have been able to pay for a plane ticket.

_Ruthie_, his sister-in-law's name sparked in Kevin's head. He had spent the whole day focusing on _local _relatives he hadn't thought to call their out-of-town family. _What if Savannah flew to Ohio? _He looked at the clock again realizing it would be six o'clock Eastern. Kevin reached for the phone and frantically dialed Ruthie's number.

**Ruthie**

Ruthie lay awake in bed, unable to sleep; she couldn't stop being worried about her niece, she was _almost_ certain she hadn't run away. Almost but not quite, she tried getting in touch with Savannah over Facebook but there hadn't been any reply from her, and that defied the belief that Savannah hadn't been kidnapped.

_Maybe she was waiting until she got somewhere where she knew she was safe_. Ruthie thought, looking at the clock. It read 5:59, no dot next to the hour indicated it was morning. It was about nine fifteen the morning before when she got the news, over twenty hours ago. Surely Savannah would've found a place in twenty hours?

She could've very well been afraid to get in contact with her family, any one person in her family. But why? Why would she be afraid? This worried Ruthie more, what had happened that would cause Savannah to run? She really wished her niece was there with her now, in her house with her _decently_ loving family. Whatever Lucy, and perhaps Kevin, had done, she and Peter would never do it to their girls.

Natasha and Zoe would be teenagers one day, but Ruthie would let them be who they wanted to be and would make them aware if they ever had a problem or got into any kind of trouble, they could talk to her or Peter about it, there was nothing to be afraid of. Unlike Lucy, Ruthie was much easier on her children; she let the girls do what they wanted to an extent.

The phone rang, and Ruthie immediately answered.

"Savannah?" She whispered into the phone, careful not to wake her husband up.

"No, it's Kevin. I have bad news concerning Savannah."

Ruthie rolled her eyes and sat up.

"She's missing? Yeah, I know, Sarah told me yesterday."

"Oh."

Ruthie found herself growing irritated; she was getting more certain Savannah ran away with each passing second.

"What did you guys do?" Ruthie accused, getting out of bed and left the room not wanting to wake Peter up.

"What do you mean what did we do? We didn't do anything, Savannah was kidnapped!"

Ruthie laughed bitterly.

"Come on, cut the act. Savannah ran away and you know it! I knew it would happen someday with the way you and Lucy treat her!"

"_I _treat her?" Kevin asked with a hint of irritation. He seemed to have realized what he said, because he tried to backtrack. "Look, we treat her just fine."

"I knew it! It was Lucy who did it, huh? What did she do now? I'm surprised Savannah didn't try to run years ago, because I sure as hell would have. This is never going to happen to my girls because I treat them the way children deserve to be treated, and my husband is able to have a mind of his own. We talk, we work things out, if one of the girls have a problem we ask them to come speak to us, not do whatever the hell Lucy did which you went along with because you're spineless! Goodbye, Kevin!" Ruthie shouted and hung up the phone, throwing it on the couch and growling in frustration.

Suddenly, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat and Ruthie whirled around to find her husband.

"What was that all about?" Peter asked, leaning against the doorframe.

Ruthie sighed and trudged over to her husband and laid her head on his chest, he wrapped his arms around her.

"What happened?"

"Savannah was _supposedly_ kidnapped."

Peter's brows shot up.

"Supposedly?" He inquired of his wife. Ruthie knew she was safe sharing anything with Peter, because that was one of the most important things in a marriage, she believed: communicating with your spouse.

"Lucy did something, I have no idea what, and now Savannah has run away. Or, as _they_'re claiming, kidnapped."

"Are you kidding?"

Ruthie shook her head and looked away.

"I have to go there."

"Ruthie…" Peter protested as he stroked her hair. Ruthie could feel her heart breaking. She didn't want to go any more than he wanted her to. She wanted to stay in their cozy house in the suburbs, surrounded by the snow, with her husband and two precious daughters.

But she had to.

"I have to." Ruthie sighed and pulled away in resignation and went over to retrieve the wireless phone from the couch to call her older brother Simon.

**Simon**

Lena was finally asleep, Simon Palmer let out a sigh of relief. He looked at the clock only to realize the time was nearing six o'clock. He had been up all night with his precious adopted daughter whom had just turned two. She was teething and had been running a fever of about one hundred all night long. It saddened Simon to see his little girl go through such pain. He knew it would pass.

The joys of parenthood tickled Simon. For awhile there, he feared he would never have children. After growing up in a large family he had always _wanted _children. His secret had boiled inside of him because of that. That and how he figured his family would react.

Growing up, Simon could not imagine not having children around. He would dream of getting married to the girl of his dreams and having a house full of children like his mother and father. There was one problem. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself he was attracted to women, he knew he wasn't.

He could remember being in sixth grade and being the only guy in school without a girlfriend. At the time he was so confused by his feelings. He found himself desperately wanted to see his best friend Nigel naked. _I'm not supposed to think this, _he had told himself. He had pushed the thought out of his head and did the right thing: he got a girlfriend. It was what was _accepted _as the right thing anyway.

Years passed and he continued to struggle with the same battle. Then there was Deena. After he started dating Deena he found himself keeping his distance from other males as much as possible. He didn't want to tempt himself. Then he faced a new problem. He started to feel attractive to someone he knew he _really _shouldn't be; someone who he couldn't get rid of; who he had relied on his entire life. He couldn't admit it, not even to the love of his life.

High school rolled around and something happened that he couldn't talk about to anyone. Short after, he met Morris. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep his distance from him. He had insisted Morris take him to that party just so he could be near him. After it all was said and done, Morris had lost his reputation at the high school.

After that, Morris had started to rely on Simon as his "bud." He had started to trust him; he even thought he could trust Morris with his secret. So he told Morris his feelings for him. What happened, Simon hadn't seen coming. Morris had smacked him and told him to never talk to him again. He begged Morris not to tell anyone. Morris had responded, "Whatever." Simon had feared Morris would tell the whole school.

Afterward, Simon was desperate. He feared Morris was telling the whole school his secret. He had to prove that he was straight. Thus, he started up his "Dating Service." The end result: Cecilia. For awhile there, Simon had even convinced himself that he _did _love Cecilia. His feelings had vanished and he had truly started to desire Cecilia.

Then _it_ happened. The accident. He killed a little boy, the brother of a boy in his class. A boy he had once fantasized about when he was younger. It was bad enough he had _killed _a living being; the feelings reminiscing did not help.

Every guy that passed caused his heart to throb. He wanted his lips to press against theirs. Nobody could know and he knew that. He started to push Cecilia away; he feared that he would only hurt her worse if she ever found out.

And he went off to college. It was a new beginning. Nobody knew his past. He had a new set of friends. Again, he was fighting his internal hormonal feelings. He started sleeping with every girl he could think about to prove he was straight.

As time passed he started to feel guilty. He knew he was who he was. The year after he graduated college he started to realize he couldn't hide this inside any longer. It had to come out. He had finally made the decision to tell his family. That Christmas.

That Christmas had changed everything. To his shock, up front, his family had seemed _accepting_. Deep down, he knew they weren't. Ruthie was the only one who would even talk to him. He heard everything through the grape vine – Ruthie. He had had Matt and Sarah for awhile there, but even they didn't contact him much anymore. Simon knew in his heart it wasn't because they were homophobic; based on his last conversation with Sarah, they had their own issues to deal with.

He had returned home after the holidays; after months he didn't hear a word from any member of his family; other than a few calls from Ruthie checking up on him. Then one day – out of the blue – Robbie had called him. He told him that his brother Ronald had recently come out of the closet and was looking for a companion. Simon couldn't pass up on the offer. He was desperate for someone who shared his _same _feelings. For someone who would love him; and he could love back. For someone who wouldn't judge him.

That was the beginning of their relationship. At first it felt awkward to be dating someone that his _sister _had made out with. As time passed he started to forget about _that _incident. Ronald was a nice, compassionate man that Simon had learned to love and cherish. He was always be there for them.

Of course their families were in a state of shock. His half-siblings by his father wouldn't even talk to him; his step-brother Rick, who had a major case of homophobia, was disgusted; and his father had disowned him. Robbie was the only one in his family who understood. Ronald and Robbie maintained a close relationship. Simon was happy that Ronald had Robbie to go to. He was kind of like his Ruthie.

Simon's situation wasn't much better. His parents hadn't disowned him completely, at least. He and Ronald still returned for Christmas. It was a family holiday that Simon felt was _wrong _to miss. He figured his family wouldn't care either way though. Well, his mother might. She had this _thing _about all of her children being under one roof at the holidays.

Still, she didn't call him. Whenever he came for Christmas she would give him _weird _looks. She would hug him like she had when he was a child. He still felt her shake uneasily when she saw him grip Ronald's hand. After she wrapped her arms around Simon, she would turn to Ronald and nod her head and acknowledge him uttering, "And Ronald."

The minute Lucy would see Simon and Ronald, she would grab Savannah's wrist and insist she leave the room. She would murmur, "This is not _appropriate _for children to be exposed to."

Even Sam and David had their say. When Ronald and Simon had first started dating Sam and David had been only thirteen. Simon figured Lucy and even his mother and father would bad-mouth him around the boys when he wasn't around. He knew they didn't get such ideas on their own.

Once, David had had the nerve to ask him how he could even stand kissing another man. Simon hadn't known how to explain it to a thirteen year old. It was a feeling he just couldn't explain. Somehow, it just felt right. How did he tell a thirteen year old that?

As Sam and David aged, they encountered their own problems. David had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. Of course he had heard that from Ruthie. Nobody from Glen Oak had racked up the nerve to call him and tell him. His parents had been so _embarrassed. _Simon figured they considered having a teenage father as a son than having a gay son.

Then they gave the baby up for adoption. Simon was happy they had done so. He wished Sandy would have done the same thing. He remembered the pain and sorrow she had gone through being a single mother. After Martin had committed suicide, Sandy was left taking care of little Aaron all by herself. She became depressed and started using. Her doctor boyfriend – Jonathan – couldn't fathom her any longer. He left her and tried to take Aaron with him. Sandy, having been drugged up and out of control, had tried to beat Jonathan up insisting that Aaron was _her _son. Not his. Jonathan had ended up calling social services on her. Aaron had been pulled out of the home and nobody had heard from him since. Simon broke off connections with a very depressed Sandy at that point. The last he had heard, she had attempted to rob a convenient store at gunpoint when she was low on drugs. She was now serving a twenty year sentence.

Simon smiled as he looked down at his sleeping daughter. He was so grateful for the adoption program. Without adoption, it wouldn't have been possible for Ronald and him to become parents. He thanked God every day for little Lena.

His thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang. He quickly glanced at the clock again. It was six-fifteen. Who would be calling at this hour? Robbie and Ruthie were the only ones that called the house phone. All of his colleagues would contact him via his cell phone.

He saw Lena begin to stir. _Great. _He wasn't so sure he would be able to forgive the caller on the phone for this. Before his daughter could start crying, he stepped outside her bedroom door to grab the wired phone on the wall. "Hello?" he whispered. "Whoever this is, it better be important. You've woken my daughter."

"It's Ruthie, and I'm sorry," his sister's trembling voice came into his ear. Something was wrong. He could tell it in her voice. "It's sort of an emergency."

He frowned. "I'm sorry for snapping at you Ruthie. I've been up all night with Lena. She's teething."

Simon could hear her sigh through the receiver. "It's alright, Simon. I've been there too. Don't forget, Zoe's only three months older than Lena. It'll pass, I promise."

He laughed. "I believe you. It's funny seeing as I can remember when _you _were teething." There was an awkward pause and he realized that she had said it was _an emergency. _"Anyway, why are you calling? What's the emergency that caused you to call me at this hour of the morning? Is everything alright? It's not Matt is it?"

"Huh?" she asked groggily. Then she went into a rant, "Oh, I don't know anything about Matt. No, it's not. It's…Savannah. Something is wrong Simon. Sarah called me yesterday saying that she's been missing since Monday morning, that they think she was abducted Sunday evening. I tried to let it pass, but I couldn't. I figured she would turn up, I highly doubt she was kidnapped. You know how Lucy and Kevin…especially Lucy…treat her. I figured she ran away, you know. But she hasn't been on Facebook and she hasn't contacted me…and I don't know why she wouldn't contact me if she ran away. She knows I would always there for her…and then Kevin just called me…"

"Slow down!" Simon cried. His head was spinning as he listened to his sister's rant which was impossible to keep up with. He had caught: "_Savannah's missing"_ and "_Something is wrong"_ and "_You know Kevin and Lucy. "_

"I'm sorry," she apologized quietly. "I'm just so upset and worried about Savannah. Kevin and Lucy did something to her, I don't know what, but I can just feel it in my bones. I'm going to Glen Oak, Simon. I know I told you I wasn't going this Christmas, but I have to. Savannah needs me and I have to dig to the bottom of this." He and Ronald had been contemplating about not going to Glen Oak this Christmas. Robbie had wanted them to join them in Florida. Mary wasn't too fond of the idea though. She too was not on speaking terms with Simon. Simon knew there was something more to it than her being homophobic. She was upset with him because of _something else_. The same something he couldn't talk about.

It was Christmas Eve and Simon and Ronald still hadn't made their final decision. They had tickets to California and Florida. They were going to decide which ones to use when they arrived at the airport that same evening. Now he knew where they had to be.

He didn't know what to say. "Wow Ruthie, you don't think Lucy and Kevin would _hurt _their own daughter do you? As in…_abuse_?" Lucy could be manipulative; he of all people should know that. He tried to picture her laying a hand on her daughter. Somehow he found it difficult.

"I don't know Simon, I don't know. But I have to go. I knew nobody else in the family would let you know what is going on, so I thought I'd be the bearer of the news again. I have to go; I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay," he mouthed and the line went dead.

Behind him a matter-eyed Ronald Palmer was standing holding a tearful Lena. "Who was on the phone?" Ronald yawned and cuddled Lena. Simon stood in a state of shock trying to digest what Ruthie had just told him. "Oh God, what's wrong Simon? You look like someone's died. Is it your dad again?"

He shook his head ghastly. "It's Savannah. She's been missing since Sunday evening."

"Oh shit," Ronald whispered. "I better call Robbie. Maybe he knows something." He handed Lena to Simon, who wrapped his arms around the sleepy toddler.

**Mary**

Mary Palmer awoke early the morning of Christmas Eve, today her daughters and husband would be going out to town for lunch at a nice restaurant and then go to Robbie's mother's for dinner and spend the night there. Unfortunately, Simon and Ronald would be flying in, something she did not look forward to one bit. Ever since _then_ she couldn't see Simon the same way.

Of course, she had a feeling it wasn't his fault, _she_ had done it to him. Simon had no say, he was just the poor victim of their crazy sister. Fortunately, he did not turn out to be like their oldest brother. She shuddered at the memories from days long past.

Suddenly, the phone began ringing. An unfamiliar number appeared on the caller ID but the area code rung familiar. It was an area code for Puerto Rico.

"Carlos!" Mary exclaimed after a minute listening to her ex-husband rant, his speech switching between Spanish and English. "Slow down, _what_ are you saying? What happened to Charlie?"

"Missing!" Carlos shouted. "He was supposed to go with a friend for the weekend while I was on a business trip to San Juan and come home yesterday, but he hadn't come home and I find he never went on the trip with his friend!"

"No, I haven't heard from him. Have you?"

"Yes, I spoke with him on the phone yesterday, but now he doesn't reply!" Mary was growing frantic. She had no idea what to say, her son was _missing_. The same son she hadn't seen for seven years, the son that said he hated her and took off before she had the chance to say or do anything, the reason hardly anyone in her family spoke to her now.

"Carlos, I'll let you know if I see or hear from him. I promise."

"Thanks, thanks _so_ much." Carlos cried. "I hope to hear from him before tomorrow."

"I hope so too. Bye." Mary hung up. She really didn't expect to hear from her son, but she wanted to know where he was, why did he take off? Was he hurt? Was there something wrong? Was he in some kind of trouble? Was that why he took off so suddenly? The possibilities seemed endless. It had been years since she had seen her son; she wasn't even sure she would recognize him.

Off in the distance, she could hear the phone ringing but she was too lost in her worrying to bother answering. It stopped ringing; Mary assumed they'd hung up.

She assumed wrong, she was shaken out of her trail of worries by her husband, who was apparently woken by the phone like her.

"Mary."

She looked up, her eyes moist with tears.

"What's wrong?" Robbie asked, sitting on the couch and wrapping an arm around his wife.

"Carlos called." Mary could feel Robbie tense a bit but continued on, her voice cracking. "Charlie was supposed to go on a trip with his friends this past weekend while Carlos was in San Juan. He came home yesterday; turns out Charlie never went on the trip."

"Oh." Robbie said simply before sighing heavily."That was Simon on the phone with some bad news."

"Oh, I don't know how much more I can take."

"Charlie isn't the only one missing."

"Huh?" Mary looked to her husband in confusion.

"Savannah's missing, since some time Sunday night."

"Are you serious?" Mary cried.

Robbie nodded solemnly.

"I'm afraid so."

"Oh, God, this just can't be happening!" She wailed; Robbie pulled her in, trying to comfort her. Even though Mary hadn't liked Lucy since _that_, she couldn't imagine her sister ever going through something so horrible like this with her only child after what she'd been through these past thirteen years. She would never _ever_ wish that on her worst enemy, nobody deserved that.

"Mom?" A voice called moments later. Mary looked up from her husband's shoulder to see her thirteen-year old daughter, Emilia standing by the kitchen hallway in her pajamas.

"What's wrong?"

Mary pulled back and wiped her eyes.

"Nothing at all, Honey. Come here."

Emilia looked at her father questioningly but the only reaction Robbie had was the same scared and worried look her mother had. The teenager simply shrugged and joined her parents on the couch, where they enveloped her in a hug.

* * *

**A/N:** We hope that if you're reading this you can take a few moments to leave a review. It only takes a few moments! Hopefully we haven't been boring you, but it's just about to get better. Just hold on tight.


	8. Chapter 8

**Charlie**

Over the next day and half, Charlie was able to keep his cousin away from the television, newspaper, radio or anything that would make her aware that people thought she'd been kidnapped and there was a search going on for her. He was sure that by now, the family had become aware _he_ was missing. After all, his father got home from his business trip the night before and would have long discovered his son hadn't been in Puerto Rico since the beginning of the weekend.

Charlie wondered if any one of his relatives had figured out they were missing _together_. The only family who might have an idea would be Ruthie. She was pretty smart, once she had let the news settle in on her eldest nephew missing while her eldest niece was, she'd realize they were together. After all, he was pretty certain Savannah spoke a lot with her youngest aunt, told her everything that went on at home, things she hadn't told him yet.

At this, he realized that he hadn't been on Facebook since before he met up with Savannah. Fortunately, she was taking a shower now, so he had time to go check his page.

He logged in and saw he had a bunch of messages, most were his friends back in Puerto Rico. He decided he'd read them later, he knew some were angry, others were confused or worried.

Finally, he found that his aunt had indeed written to him earlier in the day.

_Charlie, its Aunt Ruthie. I heard you haven't been home all weekend, where are you? Well, I guess you'll read this when you get the chance; your cousin Savannah is missing. But don't worry; I think she's just run away, I just wish I knew where she was. Have you heard from her? Please let me know where you are and if you've heard from Savannah as soon as possible!_

The fifteen year old was just done composing a long reply when Savannah came out wearing the sweats she'd arrived in two days before.

"What are you doing?" Savannah asked, drying her hair and sitting next to her cousin on the couch.

Charlie pressed send and quickly shut his laptop.

"Nothing, I'm just checking my mail."

"Oh, I should. I haven't been online since Sunday."

Charlie quickly stood up and brought his computer to the kitchen counter. Savannah raised a brow and followed her cousin over.

"What?"

"I was thinking, you know how it's Christmas Eve?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, I'm Catholic and I go to the midnight Mass."

"Right," Savannah looked at the digital clock display on the stove. "It's only 5:30."

Charlie didn't say anything, instead he bit his lips. What was he going to say to her now? He didn't want to get Savannah upset, he hated seeing her upset and in tears. But she would find out sooner or later, better sooner and from him than people around town.

"Whatever, I'm hungry. Let's go to Pete's Pizza. They have good food," she told him.

"Um, all right," Charlie said hesitantly. He knew it wasn't such a great idea going out in public. What if they were spotted? Well, that wasn't the worst thing that could happen. The pair retrieved their jackets and money. "How far is it?" Charlie asked once they were outside.

"Like a ten minutes walk. C'mon, let's go."

"All right," Charlie was hesitant, what if they were seen? What would happen? Lucy and Kevin would definitely be informed; if Charlie remembered correctly Savannah's father was a cop. He couldn't stop worrying.

**Savannah**

Savannah couldn't help but wonder what was going on. At first it was her cousin acting weird, and then suddenly suggesting they go to a midnight Mass after refusing to let her use her computer. She had never been to a Catholic church, despite knowing her father had been raised Catholic. Did Glen Oak even _have_ a Catholic church? She wouldn't know.

Now they were out on the town, she could hear whispers as people passed them by. It wasn't anything new really; she was used to being spoken about in Glen Oak. After all, she was the daughter, the _only_ child, of former Associate Pastor Lucy Camden and Detective Kevin Kinkirk. Her grandfather used to be the community's minister, her aunts and uncles had stirred up stories across town over the years. Stories had really been fired up over the last year with Matt getting fired and all. Everyone stopped talking about Simon's sexuality out rightly a long time ago, but Savannah knew they still spoke about it in private.

She really didn't think there was anything wrong with being gay, after all who can help control who they love, who they get feelings for. Whether it's a guy or a girl, that's who the person's heart wants and that's who they should get.

Savannah couldn't wait until she got that feeling for the first time, she was a loner in school with Caitlin being the only person to not be afraid to go up to her and speak with, hang out with, befriend. As none of the guys were daring enough to approach her and would run when she neared, not because she was ghastly or smelled foully but because of who her parents were. She was never able to judge a guy and his personality. She didn't believe in looks, and unfortunately halfway through freshman year she hadn't been able to set her eyes on anyone. Over half her classmates already had.

Well there was someone, but she wasn't sure about him. He was also a person she would never be able to get. She laughed to herself at that thought, for more than one reasons. First off, her mother would flip out at that.

_Hypocrite_, Savannah thought.

Which led her to her second reason; there was no way she could be with him even if he returned the feelings. Hell that would be the new scandal around town, they would forget what happened with her uncle the year before. She could already picture what people would say about her; they'd call her nasty names behind her back when they thought she couldn't hear. Of course, what they'd say about him wouldn't be any better considering.

"So," Charlie began, taking Savannah out of her thoughts. She blushed and looked at him.

"Oh, right, over here." She said, leading him over to the pizza shop. The cousins went inside and fortunately, because it was Christmas Eve, the place was almost empty. They found a table at the far corner of the restaurant away from the small crowd.

After they got their order and began eating, Savannah spoke directly to Charlie for the first time since they were at the inn.

"So, what's going on?" She inquired, again.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play stupid, I know there's something going on. Why is everyone talking?"

"Well—." Charlie began but was interrupted.

"Oh my God!" Savannah gasped, looking past Charlie.

"What, what is it?" Charlie turned around, looking where his cousin was.

"_Don't_ turn around!" Savannah snapped and Charlie obliged immediately.

"What's going on?"

"It's my uncle!" Savannah whispered as she flew out of her seat and took the seat next to his so her face wouldn't face her uncle's.

"But that's not—." Charlie began and Savannah interrupted again.

"No, it's not."

"Do you think—?"

"I think so."

**Matt**

There he was, sitting in the passenger seat of a police car. No, he wasn't under arrest but most would say he should be. It was because of her that he wasn't sitting a jail cell.

Why did he do it? He asked himself that question every day. At home, he had a beautiful wife and three perfect sons. From the surface, one would say that he shouldn't ask for anything more out of life.

But he had. And it landed him where he was today. He could easily blame one young woman; now twenty and the mother of an eleven month old. She had ruined his career. Her blonde silky hair and deep blue eyes had come onto him like no other. How could he resist her? He couldn't. Despite his love for his wife and his children, he just couldn't.

He had sacrificed everything for her; his reputation, his job, and most importantly; his family. His family would never be the same because of her. If Sarah ever found out the whole truth, he feared he would never see his boys again. Providing all went as planned, Sarah would never find out.

He had paid her father good money not to let the media or their families catch wind of it. It had been his whole life savings. In the end, his only punishment had been losing his career. Afterward, he had literally not a penny to his name. His wife instantly became suspicious when he was 'borrowing' money from her and not returning it. Even when they were going through medical school, he had never borrowed a penny from her. She knew something was up.

Matt was desperate. He had to do something. With that on his record, no employer would hire him. It was now up to Plan B.

Plan B had been the absolute last resort, but he had no choice. It was almost more risky than what _she _had done to him. He found himself on street corners late at night selling all sorts of dope. If there had been another route, he would have taken it. But there was no other route.

He started to make thousands by the week. His wife started to become suspicious that he had _too much _cash. There was no easy way around it. He had told her that he had new night job. She actually had believed it, or so he thought.

Then last Christmas came and passed. If there was one moment in his life he could go back and change, it would have been that. Not _it_, but _that_. Sarah had been getting the kids ready to go to the annual family Christmas fiasco. He had brought home some of his leftover _products _that were in need of some use. He figured if he got a little high, perhaps the 'reunion' wouldn't be so deadly.

Nonetheless, the kids and Sarah had caught him. It landed him in the drug ward at the hospital for two weeks. They released him with flying colors and ordered him to go to a drug counseling program. He had gone for a whole month and then bailed.

He returned to the streets until _she _happened. It was just an ordinary night on the corner of Maple and Oak streets. His heart had leaped a mile when he heard the sirens. He tried to run, but she chased him down and cuffed him.

She took him back to the station and interrogated him. Then, she realized who he was and he sweet-talked her out of sentencing. She let him off with a warning, saying that if it ever happened again she wouldn't be so lenient.

Afterward, he couldn't get her out of his mind. He gave up on selling drugs just for her. As much as he was tempted to, just hoping she'd show up again; he couldn't.

Instead, he found himself camping outside the police station until she got off her shift. He would follow her home and watch her unlock the door. Some nights, he would stay there into the wee hours of the morning. One night, he wracked up the nerve to come up to her and talk to her.

Reluctantly, he had invited her out for coffee and donuts. They had spent the whole night together – talking. At first, he was in denial with what he wanted. There was no denying it in the end as he remembered his first date with his wife. Her words still tingled in his ears_, "I don't even like coffee." _Over the years, he had tried to convince her to try it. Hardheaded as she was, still to this day she wouldn't sip it.

He had gazed into her eyes as she slurped her coffee. Her eyes had twinkled into his and finally she had asked him what his intentions were. He remembered telling her everything. How he couldn't get her face out of his mind; how he just wanted to be with her; how he _knew _it was wrong, but he just couldn't help it.

At that point, he had expected her to slap him and run off. But she didn't. She had smiled laughingly at him and nodded. She said she had seen him _stalking _her around and had been waiting for him to come up and say something to her. As much as she knew it was wrong, she too had feelings.

Ever since then, they had been an item sneaking behind their spouses and children's backs. He figured she had it ten times worse. They would have to create a new circle in Dante's hell for preacher's wives that had cheated on their spouses; one below Brutus, Cassius, and Judas. The sufferings would be much worse than one could even conceive and the freezing temperature would be unbearable.

Compared to his mother's, Roxanne's sins were so innocent. If only he had known what she was doing was wrong he could have put a stop to it, but she had manipulated him. He often wondered if she was the only one she'd done it to, considering the mess Sam and David had turned into.

He stroked her thin hair as his lips touched her cherry-tasting lips. "Chandler has no idea?" he whispered as he pulled away.

"He's clueless," Roxanne whispered flirtingly. "He thinks I'm on duty, that's why I have the car. Look on the bright side; he's getting some quality bonding time with Anna." She giggled as she nibbled on his ear.

"You're a genius," he whispered perilously. "Nobody comes to Pete's Pizza on Christmas Eve. It's the perfect _date _place. There's no chance of us running into anyone here." He thought of his wife and three kids at home. He hadn't gone home in three days now. It was the longest he had ever stayed away from Sarah and the kids. His cell phone was off; he didn't have to worry about receiving any messages from Sarah or the kids. It was selfish of him, but necessary. He just needed to get away from it all with no strings attached.

The couple held hands as they slowly walked into Pete's Pizza. A teenaged waiter greeted them. "Table for two?" he asked.

"Yes," Roxanne spoke up and gripped Matt's hand.

He led the two to a square table. Sitting down, he looked past Roxanne and saw a familiar face. "Oh crap," he whispered as he placed the menu over his face. "It's my niece and some boy. I didn't know she had a boyfriend. _Shit. _She'll tell my kids and wife!"

To his surprise, Roxanne showed no sign of stress or aggravation. Instead, she gave him a stern expression. "Matt, what was this discussion we had about the drugs? Remember what I said I'd do if I caught you on drugs again?"

He lifted an eyebrow. She was accusing _him _of being on drugs? "I'm not high! I swear, Roxanne. Savannah's really behind us," he whispered.

"_Matt_, this isn't something to joke about!" Roxanne gasped. "She's been missing for almost two days now and the case has gone cold." She took note to the blank look on his face. "You're hallucinating here; which is normal for parents and relatives of missing children. I know it has to be hard knowing your niece has been kidnapped."

_Kidnapped? _Matt's jaw dropped open. _Savannah was kidnapped? _His eyeballs circled around the menu as he looked at his fourteen-year-old niece and the boy she was sitting next to. He couldn't be more than fifteen years old himself. His bleach-blond hair stuck out against his dark tan skin. He'd never seen this boy before. One thing was for sure, he definitely didn't look like any kidnapper.

Matt's hand trembled for his phone. He hadn't turned it on in almost three days. Slowly, he pressed the red button to turn it instantly realized that he had one hundred and two missed calls and one voicemail. Out of all those calls, his wife had only bothered to leave one voicemail.

His eyes bounced back between Roxanne, Savannah and the mystery boy, and his phone. He called his voicemail and typed in his password. Moments later, his wife's voice came into his ear.

"_Alright Matt, I don't know where you are or who you're with. I know you're not with me or the boys. I promised them you'd be home tonight. Please don't make me break another promise to _your _kids. It's not fair to them, they miss their daddy._

_I have a feeling I know what you're up to, and if I'm right, I'll never forgive you. We'll be done. I hope I'm not right, because I don't want to do that to our sons. But obviously, you don't care. If you did, you'd be here with us._

_Oh, and Savannah's missing. If that doesn't catch your attention and bring you home, I don't know what will. Goodbye." _

His stomach churned as he looked toward Roxanne. She frowned. "That was your wife?"

He nodded somberly, "Yeah…telling me that Savannah's missing."

Roxanne shook her head. "This is such a bad idea, Matt. I-I love you. But…you're married…and so am I."

"But?" He grabbed her wrists. "Roxanne, don't do this. We can't think like this." A tear trickled down her face. "Roxanne, Savannah's right behind you. Please look."

She shook her hand and reluctantly turned around. "Holy crap, you're not hallucinating!" she screeched and broke away from Matt and made her way to Savannah and the mystery boy.

**Roxanne**

Her head was swarming with a million emotions at once. She had been seeing Matt in secret for almost six months now. How they managed to get away with it, she still didn't know. Her husband couldn't find out, she couldn't let him. It wasn't that she didn't love Chandler; she did. There was something about Matt's fearless _bad boy _attitude that drove her in.

Before she married Chandler, she had been afraid something like this would happen. He was a good boy and she wasn't sure if she could live up to his Godly image. She had never gone to church during to her life; she didn't pray regularly; she wasn't even one hundred percent chance there was a God. How could _she _be a preacher's wife?

When she and Chandler separated, it had been the loneliest time of her life. He had gone off to Pennsylvania with whatever her name was, and she had gone to Iraq. When she was discharged from the military, Chandler was the first person she thought of. She had been hesitant to contact him, but it was a blessing that she had.

He was single and living in Pennsylvania preaching at a church up there. The woman had ditched him; she'd only been using him for sex. He had gotten sick of her; he was ruining his image as a preacher. So, he annoyed her enough to leave him. She had taken Jeffrey with him, who had become accustomed to her ways.

Now, here they were. Married with a four year old little angel; and she was no better than his ex. Roxanne doubted that she had cheated on him.

She broke away from the table. Suddenly that all went away. It no longer mattered. Kevin Kinkirk's fourteen-year-old 'kidnapped' daughter was sitting at a table right across from them. Roxanne immediately recognized the boy she was sitting next to. It was Charles Miguel Rivera. Roxanne recognized his face from the image that had been faxed to the Glen Oak Police Station earlier that same day.

"Savannah!" Roxanne cried as she ran toward her. "What _are _you doing?"

"Um…eating pizza," the fourteen-year-old took the last bite of pizza on her plate. She was acting as if there was nothing out of the ordinary going on.

"Your parents and the law enforcement have been desperately searching for you for two days. But there's plenty of time for questions later. You're both coming with me," Roxanne said sternly as she motioned for the teenagers to follow her. "Come on, I really don't feel like handcuffing two minors today."

Under normal circumstances, she would call the station immediately before approaching the missing teens. This situation was different. If she called the station, they would immediately question her on why she was with Matt Camden. Sure, she could say she was _counseling _him, but that wouldn't exactly fly. There was something else that made this different. This was her ex-partner's daughter she was dealing with. She was personally involved.

The two gaped at each other and sighed, following her. Roxanne looked over at Matt whose eyes looked sad. "I'm sorry," she mouthed as she led the teenagers out into the police car.

"What are you doing with my uncle?" the fourteen-year-old interrogated her.

"I'll ask the questions, okay?" Roxanne snapped. "First off—oh crap." She looked around the car quickly realizing she had left her purse with Matt. That was bad. "I'll be right back, you two stay put." She turned around at the two kids. Quickly, without realizing she had left the keys in the ignition, she ran back into the restaurant to retrieve her purse.

When she returned, the car was gone.


	9. Chapter 9

**Matt**

Matt Camden watched his flawed love rip her purse off the table and force her way out of the door within moments. He was shocked that she had left the two run-a-ways; his claimed niece and nephew; alone in the car. His head shook back and forth at her as she made her way through the door.

His face flustered with nerves. What was he supposed to do now? Surely Roxanne would make her way to the station with the teens. Immediately, he knew he had to get out. He found himself fiddling in his pocket for enough fare to pay the bus home. His face draped when all he pulled out was some lint and two dimes; no where enough to pay the bus fare. Now where could he go?

The teenaged waiter that had greeted him and Roxanne when they entered headed over to him. "Can I take your order?" he asked politely.

Matt shook his head frantically and ran out of the pizza shop. Outside, his heart stopped when he saw Roxanne standing alone where the police car had once sat. "What's going on?" he cried as he ran over to Roxanne. He reached to wrap his arm around her, but she pushed him away.

"You've got to _go_!" Roxanne yelled. "Get out! Go back to your wife."

"Where is the car? Savannah? Charlie?" Matt frantically questioned.

Roxanne shook her head dimly. "When I came into get my purse, I left the keys in the ignition! I think the little brats must have driven away." Her said eyes gazed into Matt's. "Matt, you have to get out of here. Go home to Sarah and the kids. I have to report this to the station, and if they come here and find you we're dead." Her eyes sulked. "And I have to call Kevin and tell him that I let his daughter get away."

He frowned and nodded his head. "You're right, but I don't have any cash…"

She reached her hand in her pocket and pulled out a ten. "Here, take the bus. Now shoo!" she shrieked.

Without kissing her goodbye, Matt made a run to the nearest bus stop – less than a block away. Here he was; going back to Sarah after days. What would she say? Surely, she would kill him. He might as well already write his obituary. Matthew Camden was a dead man.

**Kevin**

The last thirty six hours had been the most worrisome of Kevin Kinkirk's life. With each passing hour, the belief that his daughter had run away diminished and the belief that she'd been kidnapped grew. He knew she was afraid of getting her mother on the phone if she called home. If she called the station, both he _and_ Lucy would be informed. Savannah wouldn't want that, but she would've found a way to get in touch with him anyhow. She was a smart girl.

But now, this morning, Kevin had been informed of something that made him even _more _certain that Savannah hadn't been kidnapped. It had been about eight o'clock this morning when a missing child's scan came into the police station. Every time a child went missing, an Amber alert was issued and scans of their pictures would go out to police station across the nation. This case was different; it was from a police station in Puerto Rico.

He didn't recognize the face, but he knew the name the minute he saw it: Charles Miguel Rivera. _Shit, _he remembered thinking. He knew immediately this was their long-lost nephew, Mary's son. If Lucy found out Charlie was missing too, she would lose it completely; as if she hadn't already. He couldn't let her know.

Christmas Eve night came, and it was time for Lucy and Kevin's annual trip to the hotel where they got engaged for a nice, quiet dinner. However, this year was different with Savannah being gone; Lucy was hell bent on staying right at home. It took over half an hour for Kevin to convince Lucy they should go out, it would be good for them. He repeatedly assuring her Savannah would know where to go if she needed help and they would be contacted immediately.

"I'll have my cell phone turned on, if anything comes up, we'll leave right away."

Lucy crossed her arms and huffed for the fiftieth time.

"Come on, Luce. We haven't been alone together for a while, I really miss you." Kevin knew this wasn't exactly true. They had the weekend to themselves a month earlier when Savannah went to a sleepover following Thanksgiving.

"But what if—" Lucy began, but Kevin interrupted.

"What if nothing. Come on, go change. We have a reservation in an hour and half." He ordered his wife firmly.

Lucy rolled her eyes and went to their bedroom to change. Kevin let out a sigh of relief, he was glad to be getting out of the house. How this would go down, he didn't know and didn't want to know. He had a feeling this night wouldn't end well and he didn't mean with Savannah.

Soon they were out the door and on the way to the restaurant. Kevin could still remember the day they got engaged there. It seemed like just yesterday, and yet it was so far away as if belonging in a past world.

_He'd planned for week while fighting all of his nerves and stress. Even through Lucy's wackiness, her insecurities and peskiness, he managed to stay strong and pull through until this day._

_It was Valentine's Day, and unfortunately he had to work. He hated working but it was his life, he and his brother chose to help the community following their father's death. Ben chose firefighting, something he'd wanted to do since he was twelve and their father died in a fire, Kevin chose something with the justice system. He studied the social sciences a year before deciding to become a police officer._

_The day finally came to a closing and Kevin got off his shift, quickly showering at the station before retrieving his tuxedo from the shop and drove to the hotel. He'd managed to reserve the nicest, most spacious room in the small-town hotel. What was even more surprising, he was able to have the Jazz legend Bobby Short play. The whole family was with him: his brother, Ben; his mother, Karen; the Camdens, Peter, who was Ruthie's friend at the time; Cecilia and even Happy, the family pet._

Isn't it Romantic_ was being played when the door clicked open. Kevin looked up with baited breath to see the love of his life enter. He saw a flicker of confusion with a hint of annoyance. She probably flipped out over something. Whatever, she was here now and he was really hoping that she wouldn't be a nag about it. She was walking down the stairs wearing the dress he'd bought her, it fit perfectly._

_They made eye contact and suddenly Kevin felt he could not do this. He could not propose, but he knew he could. He put Lucy through all this, spent his money for this night and on the dress his soon-to-be fiancée was wearing, he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life despite her craziness._

_He met her at the bottom of the stairs, her wide smile made him melt on the inside. He loved this woman, he didn't know what he'd do without her; he didn't know how he ever managed without her, before they met just ten short months before. She slowly approached him, still smiling widely. Kevin stood still, letting her walk the rest of the way, to give himself a couple more seconds. After a brief moment just gazing into her blue eyes while she gazed in his green, he knelt on one knee and pulled the ring out of the tuxedo's inner pocket.  
_  
"Kevin?" Lucy's voice cut into his reminiscing. "Are you going to get out?"

"Huh?" Kevin looked over to his wife, then to front of him. He hadn't realized the long drive concluded and they were now parked at the hotel's parking garage. "Oh yeah. Of course."

He cleared his throat and quickly unbuckled, shut off the engine, and got out.

"I know you're worrying about Savannah." Lucy wrapped an arm around her husband's waist, the pair making their way to the elevators.

_Not exactly true_. Kevin thought.

"But on the drive over," Lucy continued, "I have been thinking. You were right, we need this night to get away from everything and just focus on ourselves. It has been a while since we've been alone together."

Kevin nodded and pressed the button for the elevator.

Fifteen minutes later, they were being seated at a cornered-off section of the hotel's Italian restaurant. Once their orders were taken, Kevin brought his hand over the table and laid it atop his wife's.

Lucy smiled at him; it was the first time Kevin saw her smile in three days. How he missed her smiling, how he wished things would be the way they were, seemingly countless numbers of years ago.

Suddenly, the ringing of a phone interrupted the long lost and needed comforting silence. Kevin waited a few seconds before pulling his hand away and to his jacket pocket, reaching for his cell phone.

"Kevin Kinkirk."

"It's Roxanne. Where are you guys?"

"Lucy and I are out at the hotel, like we do every year."

"Well, I've got news… big news… good and bad."

Kevin took in a deep breath.

"Which do you want first?"

"The good news." Kevin said after a moment's pause.

"Well, Savannah has been spotted at Pete's Pizza. And she wasn't alone." Kevin silently looked at his wife and pointed a finger up at her confused gaze.

"Who was she with?"

"That missing kid they posted up at the station today."

"Charlie Rivera?"

He made eye contact with Lucy.

"Are you sure it was him, Roxanne. Absolutely sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Why?"

Kevin let a pained sigh. "Tell me the bad news."

"They ran off in my squad car."

"Shit." Kevin blurted.

"What's going on, Kevin? Who is this Charlie guy?" Roxanne trembled. She really didn't know. Roxanne wouldn't have. She only knew Mary as Mary Palmer, not Mary Rivera. Charlie had been born after she had left, and he was long off to Puerto Rico when Roxanne and Chandler had returned.

"Roxanne, he's her cousin, Lucy's sister, Mary's son."

"Oh, my God." Roxanne gasped.

"Thanks for telling me this, I have to go." Kevin took notice of his wife's angry glare.

**Lucy**

Lucy glared at her husband with irritation as he hung up the phone and placed it back in his pocket.

"So," she began, crossing her arms and ignored her husband's cringe, "It seems you've left me out of something important, _again_."

"Luce—." Kevin began, but Lucy stormed on in her rant.

"And apparently my nephew, who I haven't seen for seven years, is missing, but he's been seen with _our_ daughter. Wha—how did that happen?"

"I don't know, I only just—." Lucy interrupted once again, Kevin let out an exasperated sigh.

"I thought Savannah was kidnapped, and Charlie's been posted as missing? And now they were seen together? And you don't seem to be all that shocked by this!"

Kevin didn't reply, instead took a sip of water and looked around.

"You never thought she was kidnapped, did you?_!_ I can't believe this, Savannah _ran_ away from home? And how did she meet with Charlie? There's so many questions I have but—." She held her stomach. "That'll have to wait."

With that, Lucy got up and rushed off to the restroom. In all the franticness of the past two days, she had finally come to a realization: she hadn't gotten her period since the middle of November and it was now near the end of December; so she'd bought a pregnancy test. But now, would she tell Kevin if she was _indeed_ pregnant? She didn't know. What if this one survived and then Kevin left her?

After relieving herself, she set the pregnancy test down in the stall and washed her face while waiting. She'd done this so many times before, and was let down nine out of ten times, that first one being Savannah.

Well, the first wasn't Savannah but that was times long past, in her days of being young, stupid and reckless. She was ashamed of her teenaged years, and doing the things she'd done, she hoped Savannah would never get wind of it.

But as for her nieces and nephews? Maybe, it just depended on how much her siblings would tell them if they said anything about it.

**Sarah**

Three days had passed since she had last seen or heard from her husband. This was the first time he had disappeared for that long consecutively. It was typical for him to pull all-nighters now-a-days. But it wasn't typical for him to pull all-nighters consecutively. He always came home; typically after his all-nighters he would spend days in bed. It wasn't like he talked to her or told her where he had been. She had her suspicions, but she was afraid to have them confirmed for the sake of the children.

She had told the boys that Matt would be home last night. Somehow, she had been so sure that the voicemail she had left him would have made him come home. But it hadn't. He had turned her into a liar. How could he? Sarah couldn't believe the nerve of that man. Here he was, lying to his own sons. Didn't they matter to him anymore? Obviously they didn't. All he cared about was _her_, whoever she was. When she found out, whoever she was would be a dead woman.

Now, here it was: Christmas Eve. It wasn't a holiday for her, or her children for that matter. Her children were Jewish, according to the Jewish custom. Children born to Jewish mothers were considered Jewish, even if their father wasn't a Jew. Nonetheless, they had spent Christmas with Matt's family out of courtesy to them. Matt had stopped going to Church years ago. He had attended Temple with her and the boys each Saturday up until last year. Now, she was seen alone at her father's temple alone with her three children. At least she still had her parents.

She wasn't alone now, either. Earlier, when she was the hospital she had received a jaw dropping phone call. It wasn't normal for her to receive personal calls at work, unless one of the kids was sick. So, of course she assumed the worst.

But it wasn't her kids. It was Ruthie. Ruthie had told her all about the conversation she had had with Kevin earlier that day; about her theories; and so on. Now, next to her in the kitchen preparing dinner with her was Ruthie. Ruthie had flown all the way from Ohio without her family. Sarah was still in shock.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy Ruthie's company. She did. It was nice to have someone to talk to in person with besides her children. With Matt no longer there, she did get lonely.

Ruthie's reason for being there was what bothered her. Sarah felt she shouldn't have flown half way across the country because of Savannah. She thought Ruthie should have stayed put right there in Ohio. If Sarah knew Savannah, and if Ruthie's theories were correct, Savannah was far form Glen Oak now.

But if that were the case, why hadn't she arrived in Ohio already? She had been missing for over forty-eight hours. Sarah didn't know what to think. She hadn't stopped thinking of Savannah since Kevin had called and told her that she was missing. Nonetheless, she had tried to keep her distance from Kevin and Lucy. She never in a million years would have flown half way across the country because of this. Savannah was Lucy's only child; Lucy lived for that child, even though she didn't always _treat _her well.

There was no doubt in Sarah's mind that Ruthie might as well be correct. But nonetheless, Kevin couldn't be blamed. Kevin was a prisoner in his wife's craziness. Sometimes, she wished she help him escape. She knew that Kevin only stayed with Lucy for Savannah's sake. He would never admit it aloud, but he had implied it on more than one occasion.

As she was stirring the noodles, the phone rang. She turned and frowned at Ruthie. Ruthie's family didn't even know she was in town yet. She had yet to tell her parents that. Ruthie had insisted on keeping it a secret until Christmas. Then, she'd make a trip over to Kevin and Lucy's to give them a piece out of her mind.

"I've got it," Sarah sighed as she reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Sarah! It's Kevin. How are you?" Kevin asked. His voice was uncannily calm for a father whose daughter was _kidnapped_.

Sarah raised her eyebrows and met eyes with Ruthie. She answered his question with a sigh, "I'm fine." She had to add to share her concern, and she was concerned, "Any word from or about Savannah?"

She could hear him grunt. "It's funny you ask…well, you see, that's what I was calling you about. Roxanne just called…she spotted her at Pete's Pizza—."

"Well that's great!" Sarah cut in before he could finish. She covered the mouth piece and whispered to Ruthie, "They've found Savannah." Ruthie's eye's widened and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Hold your horses," Kevin said quietly, with a moan in his voice. Immediately, Sarah's heart dropped. Something was wrong. What could be wrong with Savannah being found? "Sarah…" his voice trailed, "She was with Charlie Rivera, Mary's son. His picture was scanned into the station this morning. I didn't mention it to anyone because I thought it would stir up more drama and I didn't want the family worrying about _that _too."

"What? Charlie was missing too?" Sarah gasped as she aimed her eyes at Ruthie. Ruthie's jaw dropped making it apparent she had no idea of that.

"Correction; still is. They took off with Roxanne's _police _car."

"They _what_…?" Sarah gasped.

"Uh, I have to go Sarah. I just thought you should know." The line went dead.

Still in shock, Sarah hung the phone up on the line. Her eyes directed at Ruthie. "That was Kevin…Savannah…and Charlie…was spotted at Pete's Pizza. Apparently they took off with Roxanne's _police_ car."

"_What?_!" Ruthie gasped dropping the spoon in her hand. "How does a fourteen and a fifteen year old drive off in a _police _car?"

Sarah frowned, shaking her head. "I don't know."

Ruthie frowned, "I didn't even know Charlie was missing! I talked to Simon earlier and he didn't even _mention _that. I know he and Mary aren't close, but Ronald and Robbie are. I would've thought he'd have mentioned that! Damn, I wonder if Mary even knows. I have to call Simon."

She pulled out her cell phone and immediately began dialing Simon's cell phone number.

**Kevin**

His wife now stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. She stared into his eyes with her cold blue eyes. He frowned, remembering how they used to sparkle when she smiled back in the early days of their relationship. Before all of those lost pregnancies.

"They took off in Roxanne's police car?" she spat and entered a rage. Fume came from her mouth, "How is that even possible? How could Roxanne even leave them alone in the car with her keys? Seriously, is she that stupid?"

"Lucy—."

"Oh I'm not done," Lucy rolled her eyes. "How could she let our fourteen year old missing daughter be alone in a car with her cousin that she barely even knows? Huh? You know what I think?"

He bit his lip with fear. Honestly, no, he didn't want to know what she thought.

Lucy continued. "I think that Roxanne didn't spot Savannah at all! I think she was calling you to phone flirt, but she didn't know that you were out with me! So you covered it up, yeah, yeah. You're having an affair with that blonde slut, aren't you? You've only been dreaming about her for seventeen years, no matter what you say."

His eyes rose. He was in disbelief that they were back to that again. Lucy had not accused him of having an affair with Roxanne since they had been married. In fact, Roxanne and Lucy had been friends for some time there. They weren't anymore. Ever since she had returned with Chandler, Lucy had been nothing but bitter with the two of them. After all, Chandler had taken her job.

"Say something!" Lucy demanded.

Kevin stared wide-eyed at his wife. "What do you want me to say?"

She huffed and plopped on the chair across from him. "I don't know, but just so you know Kevin Kinkirk…I-I'm pregnant." She folded her arms and tears started to roll from her eyes. "I haven't had my period since the middle of November. A-And I just took a pregnancy test. It was positive."

His jaw dropped and he didn't know what to say. They had gone through this oh so many times before, and had ended in tragedy far too many times. Lucy couldn't handle another tragedy. His throat clogged up as he was at a loss for words. Before he could say or do anything, a ring came from his pocket.

Slowly, still in a daze, he reached for his pocket. "Kevin Kinkirk," he mouthed dryly.

"Kinkirk, it's Chief Michaels down at the station. We've got a location on the GPS installed in Roxanne's police car."

His chest listed with excitement. "That's great! Where are they?"

"The Glen Oak Inn; and they are parked. They haven't moved since we've located it."

**Simon**

"I really hope we're not barging in. I would hate to be a bother," Simon Camden insisted as he sat on the Queen-sized bed. His blonde, now middle-aged aunt was staring down at him shaking her head. She had put on a few pounds since he had last seen her; wrinkles now formed underneath her eyelids. Nonetheless, she was still the same Aunt Julie he remembered as a kid.

"Don't worry, Simon! You're a pleasure. You know that you're welcome here at any time of the year. We wish you and Ronald would stop by more often," his aunt insisted as she patted him on the head. "And Lena too," she smiled as she turned around where Ronald was standing holding their precious daughter. "We're so happy for you two."

"Thank you so much, Aunt Julie," Simon grinned as he stood up again to wrap his arms around his aunt. "Thank you so much for letting us all stay with you on such short notice."

"Stop pestering your aunt now," his uncle's voice came from the hallway, moments later he too entered the room. His once fiery red hair had dimmed down. He still stood tall above Aunt Julie as he smiled weakly at Simon. Hank placed his hand on his wife's shoulder. "Really, with Erica gone on her own and Cody a senior in high school now, the house is quite empty. We could use a little liveliness."

Simon blushed with their kind words. "How is Erica doing, anyway?"

Hank shook his head, sighing. "She's making ends meet working two jobs. Of course it's not easy being a single mother and trying to make it on her own. She refuses any help from us, though we've offered her money. She insists she can make it on her own. She still has her pride, I give her that. When she got pregnant, we told her we'd support her…but she's just too proud."

"Good for her," Simon insisted. "I can't think of a lot of single mothers out there that wouldn't jump at the chance for their parents to pay their way."

Julie sighed, shaking her head. "That baby…Kenna…she's Erica's life. Erica knows it's not her fault she got pregnant. But when she did, she was happy. She's always loved babies; she always wanted to work in the Neonatal Unit at the hospital with the preemies."

Simon shook his head. "Did they ever find the man that raped her?"

Hank and Julie both frowned, shaking their heads. Simon sighed as he felt their pain. As he did, his phone began to vibrate. He pulled his cell phone up and read "Incoming Call from Ruthie." He suspected that she had arrived in Glen Oak already. She had failed to tell him where she was staying. Maybe there's new information in Savannah's case! Immediately, he flipped his phone open. "Hello? Ruthie?"

"Simon! Where are you?" his sister's panicked voice came into his ear.

"I'm in Glen Oak," he answered slowly.

"You're here?" Ruthie gasped. "Why? You weren't ever that close to Savannah. Not that it was your fault, but still."

He frowned. "I just felt like I had to be here I guess. If you're right, and Lucy did do something to Savannah, something wrong is going on here. I just felt the need to be here."

"Okay then… where are you staying?"

"With Aunt Julie and Uncle Hank," Simon told her. "Where are you staying?"

"Sarah's," Ruthie told him. "But that's not important. What's important is they spotted Savannah…"

"…That's great!"

"Yeah, not so much. Did you know that Charlie – Mary's son – is missing too?"

Simon looked up at Ronald. He shook his head, "No I didn't. Why?"

"Well, guess what? Savannah was spotted with Charlie. And guess what else? They drove off in a police car together. Alone."

"What? How? Who—?"

"—your guess is as good as mine," she cut in. "I just thought I'd fill you in…this is just getting weirder and weirder by the phone call. I guess I should let you go. Hey, maybe I'll see you later? I'd love to meet Lena."

"Yeah, sure," Simon's voice trembled. "I'll talk to you later." He clicked off his cell and looked up at his perplexed audience. His eyes focused toward his husband. "Did you know Charlie was missing?"

Ronald sighed. "I forgot to mention it…Robbie mentioned something about Carlos calling and saying that Charlie was missing. I didn't put two and two together. I'm an idiot."

"No you're not," Simon insisted. Ronald always did have low confidence in himself. "You only met Charlie that one time. That first Christmas." He placed his hand on Ronald's shoulder to comfort him.

"Well…who's hungry?" Hank insisted. "Cody should be home any minute, and I reckon we should get some food on the stove. Simon, how about you come help me?" His eyes motioned for Simon to follow.

Simon looked at his aunt for approval. "Yeah, go," Aunt Julie insisted. "I'd love to get to know Ronald a little better. I feel like I hardly know him."

Reluctantly, Simon followed his uncle into the kitchen. "So," his uncle said once they were out of an ear's reach. "Have you spoken to your brother lately?"

"Uh…which one?" Simon asked curiously thinking it was quite an odd question for his uncle to be asking him. He had a feeling he knew which one; seeing as he hadn't spoken to the twins in years. Simon had tried calling Matt several times since _it_, but Matt never returned any of the calls. The Matt he had known growing up would never forget to return his phone calls.

"Matt," Hank whispered. Why was he whispering?

"He hasn't returned any of my phone calls," Simon told him. "I think it's terrible with what happened at the hospital…with the whole eclampsia and all."

Hank shook his head. "So that's what he's still telling everyone."

Simon gave his uncle a queer look. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked suspiciously. "Wait. Why are you asking me if I've heard from Matt? Do you know something I don't? Wait…did his patient really not die of eclampsia?"

"I don't know if I should tell you," Hank said hesitantly. "It will change your opinion of your brother forever."

"Well, it's a little late now. I've got the feeling you want to tell me. You brought Matt up…" Simon trailed. "And if you know something about Matt, you should tell me. Maybe it can help someone help him."

Hank closed his eyes. "I've kept this bottled up for too long…I've got to tell someone. Gosh, no matter what she says…I know it's not her fault. She says it was her, but she was only nineteen, he had to manipulate her. And I was a fool…I shouldn't have taken the money. But with doctors' salaries being cut in half, and with Cody wanting to go to medical school next year, what could I say? He doesn't have the grades like I did in high school; I mean, now he does. He goofed off his freshman, sophomore, and half of his junior year. His grades are good now, but with his cumulative GPA he won't get a full scholarship. We'll be paying for his schooling. Tuition is only getting higher and salaries are getting lower. It was greedy of me. But can you blame me?"

What was he talking about? Simon's head began to spin as he reached for a kitchen chair. He took a seat as gazed at his uncle patiently. Somehow, he felt like a four-year-old in preschool just waiting for the teacher to begin story time.

**Savannah**

There she was, sitting stricken with dumbfound in the passenger of the seat of a police car. Next to her in the driver's seat was not a police officer. She shook her head as she nervously looked out the window into the darkness. He had really done it; she couldn't believe it either. _"Quick, in the passenger seat!" _he had cried after Roxanne had hurriedly run out of the car.

"_What? No, we can't!" _she remembered shrieking at him.

"_Come on Savannah!" _he had gotten out of the car and was in the driver's seat. _"It's this, or we go to jail. It's your choice!" _

Go to jail? They hadn't done anything illegal, had they? She had gazed at Charlie inquisitively. She hadn't done anything illegal; or at least to her knowledge she hadn't. _What had he done? _Her head throbbed. Nonetheless, she didn't want to go to jail. Without a second though, she took the passenger's seat. Before she could buckle in, Charlie had stepped on the gas and they were on the road.

"Have you ever even driven before?" she asked her fifteen-year-old cousin.

"Yeah, sure, all the time," he answered hesitantly. Something about the look on his face told her that he was lying. She couldn't help but shoot a heavy stare at up until he let out a sigh. "Fine, but I'm getting my permit when I turn sixteen in May. You see, you have to be sixteen in Puerto Rico to even get a permit."

With those words, Savannah suddenly felt ill as she gripped onto her seat belt. Her eyes fell on Charlie's hands as he turned the corner. The driver of the car she was riding in had never been behind the wheel in his life. _You have to be sixteen in Puerto Rico to even get a permit, _he words repeated in her head. California wasn't much better; nonetheless, you had to be fifteen and a half. Savannah had been looking forward to turning fifteen; she couldn't wait to behind the wheel. _If her parents would ever approve of that; _something told her she wouldn't be driving until she was eighteen.

"Where are we going?" she gasped as she saw him turn onto the street the hotel was on.

"We're getting our stuff!" he shrieked. "We obviously can't stay at the hotel with a missing police car. We need to go somewhere less noticeable."

"Well," she said bitterly, "if we left town, it would be more noticeable. We have to stay in Glen Oak where we at least blend in." Her eyes widened as she spotted something she had seen in her own father's police car when he had given her rides to school in it. "C-Charlie, there's a GPS in this car."

He pulled sloppily in front of their room at the inn; fortunately, it was a motor lodge. Charlie shrugged and took note to the object Savannah was gazing at. "No problem," he laughed, "in fact, this can only benefit us." He ripped it off its ledge and fiddled for the key to the room in his pocket. Hesitantly, she followed him into the room.

Charlie threw the GPS on the bed and turned to Savannah, "We don't have a lot of time. Let's go!" She shivered as she realized she didn't _have _anything to pack. She had been wearing _his _clothes which were much too big for her. This morning, he had gone to the laundry matt to rewash the clothes she had worn the day she fell into his arms. Nobody in Glen Oak recognized him like they recognized her.

He had his suit case packed in a matter of minutes. They rushed back out to the car, now untraceable. He stuck the key in the ignition and they drove off.

"Where are we going?" she whispered softly and flickered her eyebrows at him.

"I-I don't know," he answered. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Um...I doubt my parents will be home. Each year, my dad takes my mom out to the place they got engaged. I doubt it would be any different this year, even with me missing."

"Hm…I don't know if that's a good idea, Savannah. We already took one big risk going out; I think that would be a much bigger risk."

"We'd be safer at my house than we would be sleeping in this car!" she insisted. She curled her lip and gave him her puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

Charlie frowned, "Alright. Let's go to your house. But if it even looks like anyone is home, we're _not _stopping." She nodded agreeing with him. "Oh, was that key that was in your pant pocket to your house."

She raised her eyebrows remembering she had placed her house key in her pocket when she left. "Uh, yeah, it was," she answered.

"Oh good," he let out a sigh. "I put it in my suitcase."

After receiving directions from Savannah to the house, Charlie finally pulled into the Kinkirk home. She flew out of the car and opened the garage for him to be safe. The locks on the house were the same as the ones on the garage. Her father's police car still sat in the driveway like it did everyday, but the van was missing from inside the garage. That meant her parents weren't home.

The two quietly walked into the empty house. It had a chilly feeling to it. She couldn't believe it was Christmas Eve. The Christmas tree was not up; there were no stocking hanging from the fireplace; the smell of home cooked cookies did not linger in the air. She could tell this was going to be one messed up Christmas.

Both agreed they were full from dinner. Charlie insisted on taking a shower in their bathroom. She pointed him to the room with the toilet. As he showered, she changed into her pink comfortable nightgown. She longed to lie in her own bed and just sleep. Then she noticed something. The deadbolt her father had used to lock her in her room was still on her desk. Quickly, she grabbed it and stuffed it in her drawer.

As she shut the door, a voice came from the door, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" she insisted as she swung around and saw him standing there. He had nothing on but a white towel wrapped around him. His six-pack of abs was very noticeable and her chest started to pound.

He stared at her curiously. "It doesn't look like nothing," he insisted as he came closer to her and pressed his hand on her shoulder. She flinched and jumped away.

"It's nothing, nothing at all," she insisted, she felt her face burn hot as she looked into his gorgeous green eyes. She found herself leaning closer to him out of control. Before she knew it, his arms wrapped around hers and their lips pressed together tightly. _This is so wrong, _she told herself_, he's my cousin! _But she didn't stop.

His hand trembled down her body and before she knew, he was throwing her on the bed. He threw the towel off of himself and started to pull up her nightgown; and she let him.

She knew she shouldn't be doing this, but everything in her world was gone and Charlie seemed to be the only person to bring her a piece of mind despite his troublesome personality.

As they joined into one, Savannah let her worries go and sobbed silent tears as she made love to her cousin.

* * *

**Whoa-ho, hold your horses. Because the ending is not what it seems to be. Please review, we'll give you cookies from our home planet. Much better than the stuff on Earth!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Authors' Note:** We apologize for the wait, it's going to be wrapping up within the next couple of chapters - also, just a little heads up, we're planning on there being a sequel. :) If you're still with us, don't forget to review!

* * *

**Matt  
**

The eerie emptiness of the city bus made Matt feel even lonelier. It was no surprise to him that the bus was empty. It was eight o'clock at night on Christmas Eve. When he closed his eyes, he saw himself as a small boy on Christmas Eve. Every Christmas Eve, his family would gather around their Christmas tree. He could remember before Ruthie was born, and Simon was only about two. Even back then, his parents had started their _Secret Santa _tradition. Even little Simon would participate, of course everyone knew by their mother's help. That year, Simon had had Matt.

He quivered as he remembered what his mother and Simon had made for him that year. Matt could remember the small little box it had been wrapped in. Underneath the bunched up wrapping paper, it was obvious their mother had let Simon help wrap it, was a round home-made button. The words engraved on it now glowed within the blackness of his eyelids: _"#1 Big Bro." _

_Some number one big brother, _Matt pouted to himself. He had let them all down. He had ruined their family. It was his fault they were the way they were.

Moments later, the bus halted at his final destination stop. With there being nobody on the bus, he made his way freely through the aisle and down the steps of the bus. Sighing, he looked down the familiar dark street. With his hands clenched in his pocket, he began walking down the street.

Five apartment buildings later, he reached the building he was looking for. He looked up at the tall, five-story building. _"Go back to your wife," _Roxanne's words tingled in his ears. But he couldn't follow those orders. If he did, he would never hear the end of it. He would be shot at with a million questions that he wasn't ready to answer, not yet.

He made his way into the building and took the elevator up three stories. Alas, he was at his journey's end: Room 3005. With a knot in his stomach, he gently knocked on the door and waited.

The door shot open and she stood there. "I'm not—Matt." Her jaw dropped. Matt gazed with sincerity into her beautiful light-blue eyes. Her wavy blonde hair was let down freely. Her petite and medium-height reminded him of a very much younger version of his mother. "What are you doing here, Matt?" she shot. "It's late, and it's my only night off…why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your _wife_?"

It had been her to break it off, for Daddy's sake. Matt hadn't wanted to leave her, for the sake of the child. He was willing to leave Sarah to be with her and his daughter. She was only nineteen when the baby was born, she shouldn't have to raise a child on her own. Now, here she was. She had given all of her hopes and dreams for the child.

Of course, it had been her idea. Matt could remember when she was only a little girl and would come with her daddy to work just to see the new little babies. She loved babies. Matt had his eye on her then, but _never _in a million years did he think things would end up like this.

When she entered her teen years, he noticed she had started distancing herself from her father and begun clinging to Matt. Matt hadn't seen anything wrong with it; after all, he figured she looked up to him. She had shared her hopes and dream with him. Then…one day…she told him that she wanted to be a mommy. Matt, like he would tell his own children, told her that when she was married to someone she loved; then the time would come. She had shaken her head. As she flicked her eyebrows, she had whispered, _"I want to be one now." _ Before he could jerk away, she had bent over and pressed her lips tightly against his.

And then _it _happened. He couldn't stop himself; it was like he had lost all sense of control. She had taken him back to his reckless youth.

Now it was all over. Daddy had found out about their relationship, Matt lost his job, and she had tried to explain that it was her idea, but who in their right mind would believe that? He was the responsible adult in the picture. She was just a kid; just barely legal. At least he could not receive charges in _that _era. At least nobody knew how long it had _really _been going on.

"I need a place to stay," he whispered. "I can't go home."

"Why can't you go home?" she asked as she crossed her arms. Cries came from the back of the apartment. She rolled her eyes with annoyance. "I _just _got her down!"

"I'm sorry," Matt whispered. "Can I at least see her?"

She rolled her eyes. "I suppose. Matt, I wish you hadn't come here. I don't think it's a good idea."

"I have the right to see her." Matt mouthed.

"I guess you're right," she let out a sigh as she let him in and led him to the back door. She bent over the crib and picked up a sleeping baby, and patted the little girl's back so she faced Matt. Matt's heart dropped at the sight of those oval, dark brown eyes. He knew them. Unconsciously, Matt found himself looking at the big mirror hanging from the wall.

"Can I hold her?" Matt asked quietly.

The blonde nodded and carefully passed on the baby to him. With tenderness, he rocked the baby in his arms without taking his eyes off of her. There was no question in his mind. She was his. If all went as they had agreed, she would never know that.

"You said you need a place to spend the night?" the baby girl's mother asked.

Still in a daze, Matt nodded. "Yes. Can I…?"

She let out an exasperating sigh. "I suppose, but you have to be gone in the morning. I don't want the neighbors asking questions."

Matt nodded. "Deal." He gripped the baby tight to his chest. No matter what, he couldn't help but love her.

**Carlos  
**

Carlos was getting ready to meet his brother, his wife, and their two children. That night, they were heading to the midnight Mass in town together. It was the first time they have done it; every year for the past six Christmases, it had just been Carlos and Charlie. Charlie was absent this year. This year, Jorge, Carlos' younger brother, and his wife offered to take the kids and go with him to help get his mind off his missing son.

They'd just begun setting off down the street in Carlos' old 2006 Grand Cherokee when his cell phone started ringing. Carlos shuffled in his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Hola, es Carlos." Carlos spoke into the phone.

"Is this Mr. Rivera?" A barely vague familiar voice spoke.

"Sí, this is he. Who is calling?" Carlos asked with confusion. Who the heck could be calling at this time of the night? It was just past eleven. _It has to be regarding Charlie_, his heart leapt. Who else could be calling him in English?

"This is Chief Michaels with the Glen Oak Police Department." The name struck Carlos as vaguely familiar, but the town definitely struck him as something familiar. It was his ex-wife's California hometown.

"We have news regarding your son, Charlie. Are you at home?"

"No, I'm on my way to Mass with my family." Carlos exchanged glances with his brother.

"¿Qué?" Jorge inquired.

"Well, I have good news and bad news for you." Carlos could hear the man sigh loudly on the phone. It was all coming back to him now; Chief Michaels was good friends with the Camdens, he and Reverend Camden went back Carlos braced himself for the news. This wasn't a good time to be receiving bad news, especially with his eleven and eight year old niece and nephew in the car.

"Go on." Carlos ordered anxiously into his cell phone, focusing his eyes back onto the dark road. He ignored his brother's confused tone.

"Well, the good news is that he was spotted at a restaurant; Pete's Pizza."

"And the bad news?" Carlos gripped the wheel. He was almost at the church, they'd just turned on a main road and decorations could be seen in the distance.

"He wasn't alone, he had an acquaintance."

Carlos' heart fell. An acquaintance? Who could it be? Was he kidnapped? Was he ordered to go out to California? Why Glen Oak? Was it one of the Camdens? A million thoughts were buzzing through his head as he pulled into the church's crowded parking lot.

"Acquaintance?" Carlos finally got out, as he parked the car.

"Don't worry, it's his cousin: Savannah Kinkirk." Carlos let out a sigh of relief. It was only his cousin he was with. But why hadn't he been informed? Kevin had his number, he would have called him.

"That's great." Carlos said, shutting the car's engine down and getting out.

"Hold on, I still have to get to the bad news. The bad news is they took off in one of my officer's squad car."

"They…did…what?" Carlos was simply stunned. "Charlie doesn't drive! And I don't think Savannah would be old enough."

"She isn't. We located the GPS at a motor lodge, but they're not there."

_Shit_. Carlos thought. His son and niece were out, God knows where, on Christmas Eve. Did Savannah's family know she wasn't with them? He hadn't been informed of any of this, this was all news.

"Does her family know where she is?"

"No." Chief Michaels replied heavily after a long minute. "She went missing on Monday, hours before the report on Charlie came in."

"I can't believe this. I have to call Mary. Maybe she knows something."

"Are you sure? I can call if you'd like."

"No." Carlos sighed wearily, "I'll do it…thank you for the information."

"Not a problem, Carlos. I will call if I hear anything."

"Thanks, so much. Gracias." Carlos hung up and turned around to come face to face with his brother and worried family.

**Mary**

"Livvy, it's time for bed," Mary impatiently told her four-year-old daughter. The little girl was all wound up, and Mary knew from the beginning that getting her child in bed would be a challenge. Here it was, just past ten, and all Olivia wanted to do was run around with Cassie. Cassie was Rick's latest girlfriend's child from a one night stand. Rick and Jaycee had been dating for about three months and already Cassie was calling Rick_, "Daddy." _

It had been a long, but remotely enjoyable day. Mary couldn't help but worry about the connection between Savannah and Charlie's disappearances. Nonetheless, she tried to push it to the back of her mind. This was the son who didn't want her that she was worrying about, and the niece she hadn't seen since she was seven. They weren't apart of her life, why should it concern her? She had been so happy the last seven years with Robbie and her beautiful daughters. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help but worry. She was a Camden; it was in her corrupted blood.

There was no denying the way she was raised. She had been raised to care for others and do onto others how she would want to be treated; or that was the surface of her upbringing anyway. From the time she was of legal age, she had done nothing but run away from her problems. And no matter how long it seemed like she had succeeded, they had a way of catching up to her in the long run.

She could remember being a foolish teenager. It all went back to her first _real _crush. His gorgeous loving eyes and round head was still was imprinted in her mind. Every time he looked at her, and she would gaze back, her heart would throb. She thought she was his only one. She was proven wrong, and at that time she thought her life was over. To make matters worse, she became pregnant and poison was born. From that point forward, Mary knew her life would never be the same.

Mary could remember being heart-broken. She thought her life would never be the same again. After that, her life just became one mistake after another. She landed herself in jail; she lost her scholarship; she wished she was dead. Then, she met _him_; it was like all of a sudden that empty hole in her life was back. Suddenly, she felt loved again.

By that time, she had realized she had been taught wrong. It wasn't supposed to be the way it had been. She had been corrupted, and she had to get out. Her only fear: her father would never let her out of his guard. Instantly, she knew she had to rebel to her fullest.

Then her grandfather showed up; her life-saver. All was well, and she would never have to deal with her wreck of a family again. Or so she thought.

And so the cycle began. She never was one for rejection, and after Wilson rejected her she found herself running back to Glen Oak. Where else was there to go? She had been so confused back then, all because of the one man she thought she could trust.

"Mom, are you alright?" she heard her thirteen-year-old daughter's soft voice.

Mary blinked her eyes in repetition as she came back to reality. She looked into the dark brown eyes of her beautiful offspring; the twins were growing into such elegant young ladies. Mary couldn't be more proud of them. She never would want them to go through what she had. Thus, she had to keep them as far away from Glen Oak as possible.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." Mary patted her daughter's head. "Where's your sister?" Mary looked around the room looking for her other daughter.

"Em's already asleep," Jenny enlightened her. "I heard you yelling at Liv to go to bed, so I thought I would try to help…" The little girl frowned. "What's wrong, Mom? Ever since you and Dad got that phone call earlier you've been acting strange."

"It's nothing, Sweetie, nothing." Mary assured her daughter as she wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders. Then, her pocket started vibrating. She knew it was her cell phone. She sighed and turned to her daughter, "Jen, try and get Livvy to bed. I've got to take this call." _What if it's Carlos again? Maybe they have information on Charlie, _Mary's mind immediately was buzzing with possibilities. Her caller identification read, _"Incoming call from Carlos." _Since that phone call this morning, Mary had taken the liberty to add her ex-husband's phone number in her cell phone again. At least she'd know it was him calling. "Carlos?" Mary answered her phone in a rushed voice.

"Just got a call from police… Charlie in Glen Oak… with cousin… took police car… I have to go there… just thought you should know…" her ex-husband's voice cut in trembling.

"Slow down!" Mary gasped as she quickly walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her so the conversation could not be overheard. She whispered into her phone, "Did you say _Glen Oak_?"

"Charlie's in Glen Oak, he was spotted with Savannah. He and Savannah drove off with an officer's police car!" Carlos was shrieking. "I was on my way to Mass, but I'm on the way to the airport now. I've got to get there."

Water boiled in her eyes as she tried to resist the tears. Her worst fear had arisen. The son, whom she hadn't seen in years, had run off to Glen Oak to be with his cousin, Savannah. What had he turned into? The son she would have raised never would have done something absurd like steal a police car. Emilia and Jennifer would _never _do something that absurd. _Then again, _she thought_, he ran away from me_. Had she been a good mother, he wouldn't have landed in his father's care. So, in a way, she was at fault.

"T-Thank you for letting me know," she spoke with awkwardness as she ended the call. Instantly, her heart knew what she needed to do. Not what she wanted to do, but what she needed to do for the sake of her son. She hadn't spoken to or seen her family in years, but she really had no choice now. If they could get a flight out of the airport at midnight, they could arrive in Glen Oak in four hours. Since Glen Oak was three hours behind them, they would arrive at about one in the morning. Where they would go from then, she didn't know.

As she stepped out of the bathroom, she made a left and walked past Robbie's senile mother's room. She had been bed-ridden for years, which was why every Christmas they made the effort to come spend the night with her. She was lonely, and was taken care of by a live-in nurse. Each year, all she had to look forward to was their visit.

She entered the room her daughters were sleeping in. Emilia was already passed out on the bed. Jenny had Olivia changed into her pajamas and was curled under the covers reading a bed-time story to her. "Oh there you are Mom," Jenny whispered. "Who was on the phone?"

Mary's hands trembled with a cold sweat. She shook her head. "Wake your sister up and you all get dressed. We have a plane to catch."

"What?_!_" Jenny gasped. "But—why?"

"Jen, don't ask questions. We've got to go. Get your sisters ready, I've got to go talk to your father," she instructed her daughters with a stern voice. She gazed into her daughter's confused eyes. It was uncanny for Mary to be so strict with them. Usually, she was so gentle and explained to them what was going on. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

**Charlie**

Charlie awoke early the next morning to faint noises coming from outside: quiet commotion and distant singing. It took him a minute to realize where he was and what had happened the night before.

The teenager was lying in an unfamiliar bed and he wasn't alone. Laying half on top of him, naked, was a sleeping brunette whose hair swept over her face. He brought his hand from her lower back and brushed the hair behind her ear.

He saw who it was and recognized the face almost instantly; and a natural reaction would have been to freak out and jump out of bed as if he'd just been stung; but he didn't. Instead, he held her closer as memories of the previous night came to him; how they came to be here in bed, together, on Christmas Day.

"Savannah." Charlie shook his cousin lightly. "Wake up."

The brunette stirred slightly and opened her eyes, looking up at Charlie. She smiled widely when they made eye contact.

"Charlie." She whispered; her voice was full of content. Savannah rested her head on his bare chest and ran a hand along his flexed arm.

"Savannah." Charlie whispered once again, bringing his fingers beneath her chin. She obliged his motion and looked at him again.

"You still haven't told me anything."

Savannah groaned and rolled off him.

"There's nothing to tell."

"Come on, Sav, what's going on?"

"Don't call me Sav." Savannah snapped and got out of bed, retrieving her pajamas off the floor.

Charlie sighed and got out of bed, pulling a pair of boxers from his duffel bag.

"Savannah, this all didn't happen for nothing. I'm here for you, what's going on?" Charlie was desperate to find out what was wrong, it'd been three days since he arrived and Savannah has barely spoken. When she did, it was about school or sports.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yeah, I do." Charlie went to put his hands on her shoulders, but she flinched.

Savannah let out a sigh and went over to her desk, opening the drawer.

"It's pure hell living here. So much has happened since you guys left. Mom had several more miscarriages, and then she lost her job last year to Chandler Hampton. You remember him?"

Charlie nodded, sitting on the edge of Savannah's bed.

"She went insane after that, as if she wasn't already crazy enough." Savannah let out a pained sigh and looked up at her cousin.

"Wow," Charlie breathed, "I had no idea."

Savannah nodded.

"And that's just with my mom."

Charlie knew what she meant; Ruthie had mentioned it in her message last week when she wrote back to him. About how her, Peter and their girls moved east to get away from all the chaos in Glen Oak and Matt losing his medical license.

"Last year, Uncle Matt lost his job at the hospital and his medical license. Ever since, he hasn't been the same, Aunt Sarah's a wreck now. She's always making excuses for his absence. While I want to know where he is, I don't want to. I'm afraid of what that might be, and I'm afraid it'd make my mom crazier."

Charlie nodded.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Don't be, I don't want sympathy. What I want is to get as far away from here as possible. I don't want anything to do with these crazies that call themselves my family! This isn't family, families are supposed to be loving and loyal. I want what I used to have, how everything used to be."

"Man..," Charlie whispered in shock. He couldn't believe this had become his family over the years. The family he knew back in Puerto Rico; his father, aunts, uncles, grandmother, grandfather and cousins; were seemingly picture perfect compared to the family he'd abandoned. If he had known this would happen, he'd taken Savannah with him when he ran away; nobody should have to endure such intense drama and corruption.

Savannah nodded and Charlie noticed she was fiddling with something in the drawer.

"What's in there?"

"Uh—," Savannah quickly pulled her hand out and slammed the drawer shut, "Um, nothing."

Charlie raised a skeptical brow at her and went over to her, pulling open the drawer.

"There's nothing in there!" Savannah cried but it was too late, Charlie had his eyes on one object in particular.

"What's that?" He pushed past Savannah, who was blocking him, and picked the object out. "A lock?" Charlie looked at his cousin, a brow raised inquiringly.

"This isn't a school locker lock. It's a dead bolt lock."

Savannah cringed visibly and nodded.

Charlie was astonished, what the hell was a lock like this doing in her drawer. Savannah didn't seem to be the type to steal things, and if she did; _a lock_?

"It's not what you think, Charlie." Savannah said hastily.

Charlie didn't reply as things begun to click in his head, connecting the dots. Saturday night, Savannah was hysterical. Her parents had clearly done something. The messages his aunt sent to him. It all began to fit together.

"Your parents did this, didn't they?"

Savannah bit her lips, a tear begun to run down her cheek. She nodded slowly, letting out a sob.

"My mom was insane, I came home late Friday night, remember? I stayed at Caitlin's, and Dad got me the next day. When I came home she locked me in my room." Savannah sobbed, sitting on the bed. "After they went to bed, I crawled through the window and came to find you."

Charlie went over and sat on the bed, wrapping an arm around his cousin.

"Aunt Ruthie left last year after my mom accused her parenting on the way Natasha, her oldest daughter, was acting." Savannah shook her head. "She was behaving like any other five year old!

"My mom began to go berserk, and before I knew it, my aunt, Peter and their girls were out the door, on their way back to Ohio. And that wasn't all; last year was the worst Christmas ever! Uncle Matt turned into a different person in that month. Something went wrong and he's making too much out of it. My cousins and Aunt Sarah hardly see him anymore; I see them all the time now." Savannah rambled.

"What does your dad say about this, about your mom?"

Savannah rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"He just stands there and takes it. I guess he's afraid of my mom's wrath or something. He's a cop; he isn't supposed to be afraid!"

Charlie had no idea what to say; instead he let Savannah cry into his bare chest. He wondered what he could do now, how he could help her. He wanted to help her. But sooner or later he'd be sent back to Puerto Rico and Savannah would be once again locked up in her room until she went off to college.

After several moments in silence, Savannah pulled away sniffing. Charlie looked down at her, gently wiping her dampened cheeks with a thumb.

"Can I go with you?" Savannah's whisper was so quiet but Charlie could well hear her.

"You know you can't. I'm probably going to be shipped off to boarding school in England."

"Then I'll follow you. I'll find a way." Savannah brought a hand up and brushed her cousin's golden locks.

Charlie smiled and brushed a strand of hair back with a finger.

"We'll see."

Savannah smiled and leant up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Wait, your parents could be home any time now. They're going to come back here eventually…and probably with your whole family, and mine."

Savannah seemed to be in thought, and replied. "So what, let's get caught. This family is fucked up enough already." Charlie's eyes widened. This was not Savannah, she didn't swear nor suggest something so indecent, but again she did have a point.

"Your mother might kill me." Charlie said his voice full of tenseness, as he ran a hand along her leg.

"Don't worry about it, I won't let her." Savannah smirked and raised a brow.

Charlie had no idea what to do, this was incredibly daring and from what he knows and heard, it's very likely Lucy _would_ kill him if they were caught. Then again, flying four thousand miles using his father's card and stealing an officer's vehicle were daring enough, so this really should be nothing.

Savannah once again leant up, giving Charlie another kiss and this time he didn't protest. Instead he returned the kiss full on while ran his hand up her pajamas, pulling it back and brought it to the sensitive spot between her thin legs. She let out a gasp and Charlie used the opportunity to slip his tongue in, pushing her back onto the bed as he did so.


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for the bit of wait, here's chapter eleven. It was originally meant to be longer but we decided to break it into two chapters instead, and there'll be a third before the epilogue!

* * *

It had been a long, boisterous and painful night. The entire Christmas holiday alone had been nothing but a struggle to get through. She stood in the bathroom looking at her messy, knotted up hair in the mirror. With last night's events, she hadn't had the chance to shower or curl her hair. Over the last couple of years, she had found herself letting her physical and mental health go to pieces. She gazed down at the round smooth pill that she held in her hand. Last year, her doctor had prescribed her to anti-depressants. After Lucy had lost her job, her tantrums got worse. Then she lost another baby, which made everything all the more worse. Annie found herself being dragged down with her daughter.

While the anti-depressants seemed to help somewhat, Annie couldn't help but feel a trace of emptiness within her soul. Eric had suggested that it was empty nest syndrome. The twins had gone off on their own, living their own lives, and leaving the house emptier than it had been in nearly forty years. It was difficult for her to even fathom that her oldest child would be forty in under a year. She felt so old, brittle, and helpless.

When she thought of Matt, more sorrow traveled through her body. She could still close her eyes and see those little eyes that had looked up at her the day he was born. Forty years ago, he had kicked in her belly. Sometimes, when she would lie in bed, she could still feel those kicks against her ribs. After him, six more children had grown inside of her belly.

Savannah was what kept her going; it was Savannah that kept her _young_. Without Savannah, Annie felt a big black empty hole in her heart. Savannah reminded her so much of Lucy when she was a kid; the child had a heart of gold; Annie couldn't believe that she would _do _what the police had said she had done. It wasn't like Savannah, not at all. Annie knew it had to be Charlie; though, she couldn't picture Carlos raising him to be a criminal. Then again, they had barely known Carlos. Mary had met him at a homeless shelter, who knew where he had really come from. Annie had always believed in trusting her children's judgment; it was more of Eric's 'thing' to interfere with their lives. Maybe he had a point, maybe if she had interfered more, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did.

Twenty years ago, she could have never foreseen what had happened. She had to admit, she was proud of Ruthie. Here, she was married with two beautiful daughters and had a decent job. How could she not be proud of Ruthie? For awhile there, she had been worried about her. But Ruthie had pulled through, and had proven both she and Eric right. They knew Ruthie would be different from the rest, and she most certainly was.

Despite what he thought, she was proud of Simon too. It was just difficult for her to accept. She couldn't help it, but she hadn't seen it coming. Never in a million years, did she expect that one of her children would turn out homosexual. She had pretty much been prepared herself for everything, so she thought: drugs, prison, pre-marital sex, teenaged pregnancy, and countless other little acts her children had gotten involved with. But homosexuality was something that she just couldn't see coming. She didn't see how any parent could.

Every time Simon came around, she felt nervous. Whenever she talked to him, she felt like she was going to say the wrong thing. She wanted him to know that she still supported and loved him, but she had a feeling that she was failing at it miserably.

Moaning, Annie filled the glass on the corner of the sink with fresh, cold sink water. She threw the pill to the back of her throat and quickly took in a big gulp of that cool, relieving water; and she swallowed.

"Mom?" a soft, quiet voice came from the hall way. Quickly, Annie grabbed her pill case and shoved it in the counter. "Mom?" she heard again.

"I'm in the bathroom, Luce!" she called as she walked toward the door. After they had gone to the hotel last night, Lucy had been in tears. They had gotten their hope up for nothing. There, the GPS had been found, evidently ripped out of the car. _Savannah wouldn't do that, _Annie repeated the words in her head. Lucy knew it, as did she. There had to be another influence on her, and she and her daughter were both convinced on who it had to be. The only other person she had been with.

When she opened the door, her daughter was standing there fully dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. Annie looked down at her own body covers; she still wore her night robe and white fluffy slippers. Lucy's eyes were still blood shot from tears. Annie could tell that Lucy hadn't slept a wince the night before. She had been afraid of that, which was why she had insisted on her coming over to their house. Kevin and Lucy didn't need to be alone in that empty house by themselves. They needed the company.

"Mom," she said quietly. "Kevin and I are going home…we need some time alone, I think." Lucy's arms were crossed as she looked down at her own feet.

Annie frowned looking at the frail woman's round face. Memories flooded over her head. It seemed just like yesterday; she was holding the little girl in her arms. After all she had gone through to have her there in front of her; Annie knew that there was nothing she would have done differently. Lucy was her daughter, and she loved her, despite all of the hardships they had been through together. She would always be her daughter, through thick and thin.

"I'm going with you," Annie insisted solidly. "You and Kevin shouldn't be alone in that house, you need my support." Almost instantly, tears started to run down her soft face, a face Annie still saw a little girl in.

"You're right," Lucy sobbed. "I do." She fell into Annie's arms. "Mom, I don't know what I would do without you." She gripped onto Annie's shoulders and Annie hugged her daughter back. "Mom, I don't think I'm going to get through this. What if Charlie's a criminal now? What if he's in cahoots with some big bad mass murderer and he's going to take Savannah out in the middle of the woods and kill her? Mom, oh what if…I can't lose my baby! What if they find them and they want to put my little girl in prison!"

"Shhh, baby, none of that is going to happen," Annie whispered. "Except, they will find Savannah, I promise. Don't forget, Charlie is only fifteen. He's not in cahoots with the mob, sweetie, you know that. And I doubt Roxanne will want to press charges on Savannah. She's an innocent victim here. Isn't it obvious, she's been coerced by Charlie, you know that."

"That little devil son of my sister's," Lucy growled. "I hope they lock him away for life."

"Now, now, don't say that, Luce," Annie tried to sooth her daughter. "We haven't seen Charlie in many years, we can't just pass judgment on him like that…he might be a very nice young man, you never know."

"Hah! Right, a nice young man doesn't run off with his cousin and steal a police car! Come on, Mom!" Lucy shrieked and pulled away from Annie. Her once twinkling blue eyes were now full of fire and anger.

"You make a point," Annie sighed, but she didn't want to admit it. The last thing she wanted to admit was that her grandson was a criminal. But in a way, it was better than admitting the only granddaughter she saw regularly was somehow behind this mad chase. _Savannah wouldn't do this; she had to have been coerced. _Annie knew it was true. It just had to be. She wouldn't have it any other way. She shook her head and wholeheartedly gazed inside her daughter's eyes, "I'm going to go change, sweetie. Your dad's still asleep, and I'm not going to wake him if I don't have to. He needs his rest. I swear he hasn't slept since Savannah went missing. He's been so worried sick, we all have."

Lucy nodded. "Alright, I'll go tell Kevin."

After she watched her daughter disappear down the hallway, Annie turned around and tiptoed into her bedroom. She walked lightly across the room to the closet, where she pulled out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. When she was fully dressed, she grabbed her hair brush and ran it quickly through her hair. Meanwhile, she peaked over at her husband. He appeared to be in a deep sleep, and didn't even make a stir as she tiptoed out of the bedroom. Annie smiled to herself, proud that she had made it in and out without disrupting him. He needed his sleep; everything she had told Lucy was true.

She swiftly walked down the hallway. As she approached the living room, she heard a knock on the door. "I've got it!" she called, hoping to make it there before Lucy and Kevin. Just as she started to race for the door, she passed the calendar. Out of the blue, she realized the exact date. It was Christmas Day, December twenty-fifth. Her heart stopped for a moment, in disbelief that it was actually Christmas _Day_. She remembered what joy Christmas Day used to be for their family. They would gather kids around their beautifully decorated Christmas tree and would exchange home made gifts. Each year, she remembered the "Secret Santa" game they would play. She remembered the trick she and Eric would use to always get each other. Life seemed so simple back then. How things had changed.

With a few blinks, and shaking her head, Annie came back to reality. _The door, _she reminded herself as she started racing for the front door again. But when she got there, she was surprised to see the door open and Lucy and Kevin standing outside of it. As she edged closer, anxious to see who was at the front door, she saw her own flesh and blood. He was tall, about the same height as his father and brothers except for Sam. All of the men in the family stood taller than she, Lucy, and Ruthie. All except for Sam, he was short and chunky. Mary was the only female in their family to be blessed with a little height.

"David!" Annie cried in shock. It had been months since she had seen her son and his girlfriend. David and Melinda had both gone off to college, and from what she could see was succeeding. Both had put their struggled teen years behind, and were moving forward. Annie held no resentment on her son and girlfriend for what they had done. After all, they had done the right thing by giving the little baby boy to a family who could care for them. Obviously, neither of them was put out to treat for a baby on their own. Annie had felt sad to see her grandson go, and she would always wonder about him. But she knew he was living a better life than David could have provided for him.

"Mom," David said quietly as he saw him wrap his arm around the small woman next to him. "What's going on? Luce and Kevin said that Savannah's missing. Why haven't I heard about this?"

"Oh David, I guess we just forgot to tell you. It's been so overwhelming, as you can imagine, and it's such a long story. I don't even know where to begin," Annie sighed as she wrapped her arm around her son, and placed her hand on Melinda's shoulder. "It's nice to see you again, too, Melinda."

"Yeah," Melinda smiled weakly. She was a nice girl, and Annie didn't hold any grudge against her for what had happened. Eric, on the other hand, blamed her for coercing their son into a relationship he wasn't ready for. Teenagers were teenagers, and after five children before that, and being one herself, Annie knew that. And as she had witnessed, Sam and David had grown up in a completely different generation than the other children. Their teenaged years were harder. When they were little, she had thought they would be easier, since there were only two of them. Then they hit middle school, and everything changed. In a way, Annie wished they could have just kept them in home schooling. But the boys had wanted to return to school when they got older. They missed their friends, and got tired of 'dear old Dad.'

"Hey Mom," a voice came from behind Melinda. Annie hadn't even noticed her other son standing there. He was short, like his sisters and her. His hair was longer than she remembered it being and he was dressed from head to toe in black. Annie could see not much had changed with her youngest son.

"Hi, Sam," Annie smiled weakly. "I see your favorite color is still black."

"It's the shit," Sam shrugged, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket.

Annie bit her tongue at her son's language, but she wasn't going to let him smoke right there in their front door. "Sam, I'd rather if you didn't smoke near the house…if you could go around back."

"I see you're still prejudice against me," Sam rolled his eyes. "Fine, it's not like I wanted to come for Christmas. But David called me and pestered me to meet him at the airport so I could tag along. But okay, I'll go out back and smoke." The not so little boy stomped off of the porch and walked around back.

Annie frowned with sad eyes as she watched her youngest son disappear, and her eyes directed back toward David and Melinda. "Well, why don't you two come in the house; Eric's asleep and I was just getting ready to go over to Kevin and Lucy's with them. But you're more than welcomed to stay here and wait for Eric to wake up. But please, don't wake him up. He needs his sleep."

Melinda and David smiled as they entered the living area. Kevin and Lucy stayed by the door, bundled and ready to go. Just as Annie started to shut the door behind them, two cars pulled in the drive way at the same time. Her brow lifted as she squinted and saw familiar faces in the front seats. All of the doors swung open, and she saw her youngest daughter and sister-in-law step out of one car, and son and _son-in-law_—according to Massachusetts law—step out of the other car.

"Grandma!" the back door of Sarah's convertible swung open. Three boys ran out of the car and the smallest wrapped his arms around her. Behind them, Sarah and Ruthie followed. Following them, were Simon and Ronald. In Ronald's arms was a dark haired toddler girl, whom Annie had yet to meet.

She let go of Jacob, and stepped outside. "Simon," she whispered as she looked into her son's deeply concerned eyes and then she aimed her eyes over at Ruthie. "Ruthie, you didn't bring your kids? You said last week that you weren't coming…"

Ruthie folded her arms and sighed, "I heard about Savannah, and decided I was needed. Peter stayed behind with the girls…it was a difficult decision for me to leave my girls behind at Christmas, but I didn't want them _exposed_." Her eyes aimed through the door, where Kevin and Lucy still stood. Annie looked behind her to see Lucy's lips pressed together and gazing directly at Ruthie. She pushed the door open.

"What are _you _doing here?" she spat at Ruthie, and then she saw Simon. "And _you _and _him_…and your contaminated daughter!"

"Lena is not contaminated!" Simon cried. "Just because you're a homophobic…" Ronald slapped Simon across the back, and Simon appeared to bite his lip. He frowned and folded his arms. His sad concerned eyes aimed toward Lena's. Annie could instantly tell the love that was in Simon's eyes. He truly did care for Lena, and Annie couldn't help but feel sorry for Lena. Once her peers found out about her living situation, she would be teased. That was one of the reasons she and Eric had been opposed to Simon and Ronald adopting. But their opinions wouldn't have stopped them, and Annie knew that. Simon had a mind of his own.

"Okay, you two can stop," Ruthie said bitterly. "We're all here for one reason, Lucy. And it's because of Savannah. We all know about her, and we're all worried for her."

Behind Lucy, Kevin placed his hand on her shoulder. "Have you guys heard about what happened last night?" he asked quietly.

Sarah nodded and her eyes twinkled toward Kevin. "Ruthie spent the night with me last night, so she knew when you called me."

Kevin's face stiffened as Sarah spoke and his eyes froze on her for a second. Tears started rolling down Lucy's eyes, and she wrinkled up her nose. Before another word was spoken, a car that Annie didn't recognize parked on the curve. She squinted to see who was behind the wheel, but she her eyes were beginning to fail her. It was too far away to make out any faces.

"Who's that?" Lucy sniffed and looked up at her husband.

"I don't know," he answered and looked down at the others. "Do you guys?"

Ruthie, Simon, Ronald, and Sarah all turned their heads to witness the foreign car. Almost instantly, Ruthie, Simon, and Sarah all shook their heads, indicating they didn't recognize the car. But Ronald froze. Slowly, he handed his daughter to Simon and whispered something in Simon's ear, something undetectable by Annie's ears. Along with her eye-sight blurring with age, her hearing had started to dim as well. Menopause had only been the beginning. With each day, she started get a bigger insight of what it was like to be _old_.


	12. Chapter 12

Out of the blue, Annie realized that her oldest son was not present. It didn't surprise her none. After all, she hadn't seen much of Matt since he had lost his job over everything. She had barely seen Sarah and the boys; she was sure that was why the boys had been so excited to see her. She hadn't seen the boys since Thanksgiving. Unlike Jonah, Jeremiah, and Jacob, she usually saw Savannah every day. Except, of course, since…well, _it_.

"Who is it?" Ruthie asked, looking at her brother and Ronald. The two men shrugged and frowned. Before they could say anything, a long-legged woman stepped out of the car. Annie rubbed her eyes again. At first, she couldn't believe what she saw was a reality. She had to be hallucinating. But after blinking several times, she came to realize, it was. No matter how old she may have gotten, Annie would recognize her own daughter's face anywhere. It had been seven years since she had seen Mary, and Annie could tell that she was just as beautiful as she had been the last time she had laid eyes on her oldest daughter.

Annie felt light headed, as if she could faint. Beside her, she saw Lucy's eyes grow angry. "What is _she _doing here?" Lucy growled, looking at Kevin. "You called _Mary_?"

Kevin instantly shook his head. "No, I did not. But surely someone from the police station might have. Her son was spotted here; I mean come on, Luce. Be reasonable."

Lucy huffed and snarled, "Her son is the _reason _my baby is not here right now! She has no right to be barging in on us like this." Lucy lifted her fist, "I could…I could…"

"Luce…" Kevin gave his wife a warning glare, and then shot a look back over at Sarah, who shrugged at him. Annie couldn't help but notice the connection between her son-in-law and daughter-in-law. Surely, she was imagining it. But somehow, she was picking up a vibe. Of course, she was imagining it. "Just be nice," Kevin whispered. "Not now."

Mary had opened up the back of the car and two teenaged girls stepped out. _It can't be, _Annie thought as she looked at her two thirteen-year-old granddaughters. They were tall and lengthy, just like their mother had been at their age. Their long dark hair was let down, and reached their waists. Annie couldn't help but admire their beauty.

Behind them, Mary unbuckled a smaller girl; Annie presumed she had to be about four. _They had another child? _Annie thought. She had been completely unaware; of course, when her daughter hadn't contacted her in seven years, how could she have been?

As the family stood in silence, the door cracked open. David and Melinda joined them on the porch. "Is that…?" David looked at his mother in ambivalence.

Annie nodded slightly. "It's her, David. It's Mary."

Behind the tall woman, now in her mid-thirties, was another familiar face. Annie would recognize that round face, dark sincere eyes, and coal black hair anywhere and anytime. He had aged slightly, and now had tired wrinkles around his eyes. Robbie no longer was the eighteen-year-old kid who had lived in the Hello Kitty room at the parsonage.

Robbie, Mary, Jennifer, and Emilia all stopped on the front lawn across from Sarah, Ruthie, Simon, and Ronald. Mary clung onto her smallest daughter in her arms. The little girl's dark brown hair also stopped at her waist. She was a miniature clone of her sisters, and reminded Annie of the twins when they had been young. Seven years ago, Jenny and Emi had only been six years old. Annie couldn't believe that they were thirteen already.

"Well, you all are a welcoming bunch," Mary finally spoke up. "Gee, now I remember why I ran off that Christmas Day."

"Mary…" Annie gasped, as she walked off of the porch. "I-It's so great to see you. It's been far too long." She couldn't help but widen her arms and walk closer to her daughter whom she had not seen in what felt like forever. Annie made her way across the lawn and wrapped her arms around Mary, and patted Robbie's shoulder. "And who's this little girl?" she smiled at the small one still in Mary's arms.

"This is Olivia," Mary said flatly, "your four year old granddaughter." Annie smiled at the little girl, and stroked her smooth brown hair. The little girl timidly leaned closer to her mother, shy of her grandmother.

"I'm your grandma Annie," Annie explained to the little girl, smiling into those shy eyes.

"But Mommy and Daddy say that my grandma can't walk," the little girl said. "She lives with my uncle Rick and his girlfriend and my friend Cassie."

"This is your other grandma, sweetie. She's my mom," Mary told her daughter.

"Oh," the little girl made an 'o' with her lips. "Mommy says that you're nuts to put up with Lucy. But when I asked her who Lucy was, she told me she was a crazy person."

Mary blushed at her daughter's words, and Annie raised her brows at the honesty of a four-year-old. Lucy broke away from Kevin's grip on her wrists and stomped down the stairs. She made her way over to Mary. "I see you're talking to my niece who I've never met about me, eh?"

"Well, it's nice to see you too, Luce," Mary said calmly, and smiled at her sister.

"Oh hah, you are funny. What _are _you doing here?" Lucy shrieked. "How did you even _find _Mom and Dad's place without contacting them?"

"There's this little thing called Map Qwest," Mary said bitterly and continued, "In case you haven't heard, our children are running around the town together in a police car," Mary told her. "I thought, you know, maybe I should be here. Believe me, it's not like I _wanted _to face you after all of these years, but something told me that I had to. I had this crazy feeling that maybe, just maybe, our children running off together was some _call _from a higher power saying I needed to come back here."

"For one, if I remember right, this 'son' of yours ran away from your house when he was only eight years old. And for two, our children are not _joy-riding _in a police car, like you talk! Charlie kidnapped her!" Lucy screeched with fiery eyes toward her sister.

"Oh please," Mary laughed and rolled her eyes. She set her daughter down on the ground and aimed her eyes toward Simon, Ronald, Ruthie, and Sarah. "You guys don't actually believe that, do you? Charlie _kidnapped _Savannah? Right, my Charlie would never do that."

"He flew across the country at eight!" Lucy shrieked. "You haven't seen the kid since he was eight! How do you know what he's like! For all you know, he could be a serial killer!"

"My fifteen year old is not a serial killer! And as far as that goes, how do I know your daughter isn't a slut? How do I know that _she _didn't plan this all? Maybe, just maybe, _she _contacted my son and coerced him into coming out here to get her."

"And how would my precious angel do _that_?" Lucy cried. "It's not like she's been in contact with Charlie over these years. There's no way."

"Gee, Luce, haven't you ever heard of the _internet_?" Mary asked quietly. "It's 2019, not 1996 anymore. Every kid on the planet that can read has a Facebook account. You can't tell me that Savannah doesn't."

"She doesn't!" Lucy cried, tears beginning to roll down her face. "I wouldn't allow her to have one. Believe me; my baby girl _does not _have a Facebook account. I would know about it."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Right; and how would you know? It's not like _you _have one yourself."

"Simple. I blocked it at our house," Lucy folded her arms. "There."

Across from her, Annie couldn't help but notice the nervous flustered looks on Sarah and Ruthie's faces. The two eyeballed each other, and were chewing on their lips.

"Is there something I'm missing?" Lucy looked at Sarah and Ruthie. "Why are you two looking at each other so funnily? What's going on?"

Ruthie let out a sigh. "Okay, Charlie contacted me on Facebook a few weeks ago…he asked me if Savannah had an account, and I pointed him to hers."

"To hers!" Lucy cried. "That's not possible; she doesn't have one to point to!"

Sarah and Ruthie both grunted looking at each other. "Yes she does," they both said at the same time.

"See!" Mary cried and pointed her finger in Lucy's face. "As you can see, you don't know your daughter as well as you thought you did."

"S-So, you're saying they met over…Facebook?" Lucy stuttered and let out an exasperated sigh. "See! This is why I didn't want her to have one…oh my Gosh, is there any way you can find out what she said?"

Sarah and Ruthie sighed, and Sarah finally said, "Only if she's logged in permanently in her browser cache. Do you know where her computer is?"

Lucy looked back at Kevin and shrugged. Kevin said, "It's in her room, isn't it? I know it's always sitting on her desk."

"We've got to get over there!" Lucy shrieked. "Now!"

"What about the kids?" Simon suddenly asked, looking at his little one, then at Mary's small daughter. "They can't all go with us, can they?" He suddenly took note to his younger brother who had his girlfriend wrapped around his arm.

"We could watch them," Melinda suddenly perked up.

"Are you sure?" Simon asked. "We don't want to be a burden on you."

"No, no, it's no problem. I love kids," Melinda smiled at Simon. "David and I want to have kids some day. Of course, we learned from…well…you know…we want to wait until we're out of college and have some money in the bank. And we're married, of course. But in the meantime, I love baby-sitting."

"Excuse me, but who are you, and why should I leave my children with you?" Mary eyeballed Melinda and David.

"Well, Mary," David said slowly. "I'm your brother, David. Remember me? This is Melinda, my girlfriend. We were…what, thirteen the last time you came around?"

"Oh, so you're David. Where's Sam?" Mary inquired.

David shrugged and looked at Annie, who sighed. "Knowing him," David said, "he hitchhiked back to wherever he came from."

Sarah, Ruthie, Ronald, and Simon all looked at each other. All four of them were aware of Sam's _issues_. They had been around long enough to know that Sam was not leading in a good direction.

"I see," Mary said softly.

"Mom," Jacob tugged on Sarah's arm. "Can we stay here with Uncle David? He's fun, and Melinda's pretty, I like her." Sarah laughed lightly as she smiled up at David and Melinda. Annie glanced between Sarah and Melinda; Melinda was blushing.

"I don't see why not," Sarah shrugged. "It's not like there could be any harm done. Let's just leave all of the kids here, run over to Kevin and Lucy's to scan through the computer…"

"Remind me why you all need to come over to our house again?" Lucy asked.

Kevin nudged his wife. "Because you don't know anything about Facebook, and frankly, neither do I. I made an account awhile back, but do you think I use it?"

Lucy shrugged, "I don't know what to think anymore. I obviously don't know my own daughter. What are the odds I actually know my own husband? Who were you talking to when your phone buzzed off last night? Was it Miss _Roxanne _again?" Kevin's expression remained straight as he shot a glance at Sarah again.

Kevin shook his head, not answering his wife's question. As the children began making their way into the house, the phone rang. "I've got it," David insisted. "It's probably Sam asking me to come get him from prison. Knowing him, he got picked up on the highway for it." Annie grunted at the thought of her youngest son being in jail; at the thought of any of her children being prisoners. They had come close enough with Mary. David ran into the living room to get the phone, and Annie guided her grandchildren into their small, but cozy home. She suddenly realized that right then and there that in that room was the most grandchildren she had ever seen at one time. There were: Jennifer, Emilia, Jeremiah, Jonah, Jacob, Olivia, and Lena. There were seven. At that time, all of her children – except for Sam and Matt, the youngest and the oldest – were under one roof for the first time in seven years. If only Savannah, Charlie, Natasha, and Zoe were there, the entire family would have actually been under one roof. If only. _They will find Savannah and Charlie, _Annie told herself_, I promised Lucy, and I don't break promises to my daughter._

She grimaced lightly at her son as he reached for the phone. Meanwhile, she turned to Jennifer and Emilia and whispered, "You girls have grown up so well. I can't believe you two are all grown up. Boy does time pass."

"Yeah," both girls shrugged and looked at each other. Surely, Annie understood how awkward the situation must be for them. They had only been six years old when their mother had stormed out of the house with them and their brother. Annie couldn't help but wonder how much they remembered. No matter how much it was, she knew it hadn't been healthy for them. Looking at them now, it looked like Robbie and Mary had done a good job with them. They looked healthy and well mannered. Mary must have gone right somewhere.

She watched David's lips straighten as he answered the phone. "Camden residence?" he asked. "Oh, yeah, she's right here." He turned to Annie and whispered, "It's a man with a Hispanic accent, he asked for you or Dad."

Annie lifted her brow, thinking there was only one guy she knew of with a Spanish accent. She took the phone from her son's hand and answered hesitantly, her eyes eyeballing her daughter. "Hello?"

"Annie. It's Carlos," the voice rushed through the speaker. "Anyway, I'm in Glen Oak…I received word that Savannah and Charlie are here and I heard they took off in an officer's vehicle. Has there been any word on them?"

Annie shook her head, "Carlos, it's so nice to hear from you again. No, I'm sorry, but there has been no word on Savannah and Charlie." She caught Mary eye-ball her directly as Annie uttered_ Carlos_.

"Oh, well, that's too bad. I'm renting a car…and I heard you guys moved. Where do you live now? You're the only ones I know in Glen Oak, otherwise if that's inconvenient I could check into a hotel. Still, I'd like to see you all. I hope you know that I never held anything against you guys. It's not your fault, that well…you know."

"I do know," Annie whispered as she was looking into Mary's eyes. "Look, Mary and Robbie are here…so maybe your second option would be best. But if you want to stop by, we're going to be at Lucy's. She lives at 5200 Hammond Street. It's up to you."

Lucy shook her head vibrantly as Annie gave out her address, and Annie shrugged carelessly at her daughter. She had always adored Carlos and had been heartbroken when Mary had announced that Emilia and Jennifer were not his. Though she loved her daughter, it wasn't fair to Carlos.

"I see," Carlos said. "Well, I'll think about that…if you hear any word on Charlie, please give me a call. Okay?"

"Believe me, I will," Annie insisted.

"Goodbye." And the line went dead.

"What was _that _about?" Lucy insisted with her hands on her hips. "Did I hear _Carlos_?"

"He's in Glen Oak," Annie informed them all. "He's been informed about Charlie, and he wants us to contact him if we hear anything about Savannah and Charlie. He has the right to know, considering Charlie's been under his custody."

"If Charlie had been in our custody, this wouldn't have happened," Mary mumbled.

"Oh, please!" Lucy gasped, rolling her eyes. "I find it funny that an eight year old ran away while in your custody."

"Just drop it, already!" Mary shrieked. "You're never going to let me live that down."

"Come on," Kevin nudged Lucy. "Let's go back to the house, maybe we'll find something in Savannah's computer that can help us track her down. Gosh, I don't know why we didn't think of that before."

"Well," Lucy said slowly shooting her eyes toward Sarah and Ruthie. "If _someone _would have mentioned she had a Facebook account."

"If someone had common sense," Annie was close enough to hear Mary murmur under her breath.

"What was that?" Lucy's eyes shot back at Mary.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," Mary smiled friendly and she turned to her three daughters. "You be good for your uncle David and Melinda…okay, girls?" she gave each of the girls a kiss on a forehead and eyeballed her older daughters, "Watch your sister, okay?"

"We will," Emi and Jenny smiled with their arms behind their backs. Annie looked into those innocent eyes, in disbelief that they were her granddaughters. She didn't want to have another moment pass, but she knew they had to find Savannah. The only reason she was looking at them now was because Savannah and Charlie had gone missing. As she looked on the bright side, she saw something good had come out of this disaster. It had united their family together, a family that had been crumbled up for too long.


	13. Chapter 13

**This is the _final_ chapter. Be warned for some major shockers; and if you just skip to the end without actually reading the whole chapter nothing will make sense. Please comment; and we'll understand if you flame. In fact, we'd love a few flames. :)**

**Lucy**

Lucy remained silent for the entire drive over to the house which she and Kevin shared. Her thoughts raced with anger as she recalled the little _reunion _she had just had with her brothers and sisters. All she knew was: Mary ought to be ashamed with the accusations was thrown at her. Lucy knew that she was a great mother to Savannah, and it was because of her Savannah was a good child. She made good grades, she didn't hang out with the bad crowd; and she didn't smoke, drink, or do drugs. She was the perfect daughter, unlike Mary's children.

Emilia and Jennifer looked like spoiled little brats. Lucy did not spoil Savannah; she always let her know there were people worse off than her and that she should give courtesy to everyone. She donated clothes and food during the holidays, and helped baby-sit in the summer for the kids whose parent needed to work a double shift at their jobs. But Mary, she clearly did not raise her daughters that way. She had raised them to take advantage of God's gifts, and it was because of her that her son had become a juvenile delinquent at fifteen.

The brisk chilly December wind brushed on Lucy's face as she stepped out of her car. She looked over at the love of her life; Kevin Kinkirk. Every time she would look into his darling eyes, memories would flood back to her. She remembered the very first time she ever laid eyes on him. Back then, she was just a foolish eighteen-year-old girl who wanted her bag at the airport. Now, what was she? She was still foolish; but she only could only dream about being eighteen again.

She grabbed her husband's hand and they started to walk up the steps to their porch. Knowing that they were entering the house and Savannah would not be there made her feel so empty. Savannah was her life, and without Savannah her life was nothing but a figment of her imagination.

Her mother caught up to her and placed her hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Luce," she whispered, obviously taking note to the worry and concern in Lucy's eyes. "I'm sure you will be able to find something on her computer that will trace you to her." Lucy sucked on her lip, clinging tighter to her husband. While she wanted to believe what her mother was saying was true, she couldn't help but worry that it was only false hope.

Behind them, Sarah, Simon, Ronald, Ruthie, and her dreaded older sister followed behind. Lucy forced herself to avoid looking back at them. Looking at them only brought more pain to her heart. They all had their own children; well, Simon's didn't count. But Sarah, Ruthie, and Mary had all given birth to healthy children. None of them had gone through the troubles she had. Thus, they could not understand how she was feeling.

Despite her anger toward her siblings, she allowed them to follow them into her house. "Where's Savannah's room?" Ruthie immediately asked.

Lucy crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at her younger sister. "Um, yeah, I'll go get her laptop. You have no right to disrupt her personal space. On the other hand, she is my daughter. So I will go get her laptop." She stuck her chin up high as she looked toward her daughter's closed door. _Was it closed before? _Lucy thought conspicuously. She could have sworn it was closed when they had left. _Of course it was closed, _Lucy told herself; after all, nobody had been in the house since they had left. Surely, she was just remembering it wrong…

**Eric**

Eric lied in bed staring at the ceiling. The matter that had built up in his eyes made it difficult for him to keep his eyes open. After two consecutive sleepless nights, he felt even more tired after actually having a good night's sleep. Well, he couldn't say it was _good_. At least he had actually slept.

He recalled a dreamless sleep; it was like blackness had filled his eye sockets, then suddenly he was awakened by a loud ring. It was the telephone ringing. An instead pain crawled in his head as he realized he was awake. Voices had traveled down the hallway; all of them were familiar. He heard Lucy shrieking about something; that was his Lucy, always freaking out about something. Then there was another voice, a familiar but at the same time unfamiliar voice. _No, it can't be, _he told himself assuredly. The voice he thought he heard was a voice that he hadn't heard in seven years to that date. _Wow, Eric, you're really getting old, _he told himself. _Now you are hallucinating voices. _It wasn't just any voice he was hallucinating; it was Mary's.

When he closed his eyes, he could still see her smooth oval face. Her soft, young voice would sound inside of his head. Back before she entered high school, she was so innocent and carefree. He could remember smelling her strawberry scented shampoo when she would run his hands through her smooth, silky brown hair. Her small round brown eyes would look into his; then she would smile and mouth, "I love you, Daddy."

He would smile, nod, and say, "I love you too, Mare."

What had changed since then? Well, the answer to that was: everything. Mary had grown up; she was no longer the little girl he had once held in his arms. She was now a grown woman who wanted nothing to do with her family. He respected that, though he would never accept it. Eric Camden would do anything to hold his precious baby in his arms again.

The voices had died down, and Eric still lied in bed contemplating. Exhaustedly, he lifted his heavy lags and sat up on the bed. He stretched his arms behind him and released the tension in his shoulders. Finally, he brought himself to push his body off of the bed. His aging ankles, full of arthritis, crunched as he walked over to the closet he shared with his wife. Eric ran his hand across his side of the closet and pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a plain-white T-shirt.

Just then, he realized the date. _It's December twenty-fifth, and the year is 2019. _It was Christmas Day. As he slipped on his pants, he reminisced back to the days where Christmas Day had been a day he had looked forward to all year. His excitement wasn't brought on by desire for gifts, but for the joy that traveled through the air on the day that celebrated the Son's birth.

Eric smiled as he remembered before the twins were born, and it was just Matt, Mary, Lucy, Simon, and Ruthie. He pictured little Ruthie dressed up as an angel and hanging from a string. She used to look forward to that each year, and so did he. She was such a beauty, and she still was.

It had been a year since he had seen his youngest angel. His heart ached, literally and figuratively, with each passing day. Ruthie was no longer a baby; she could no longer be tied up on a string to _fly_. She was a grown woman, married with two children, and off on her own. Ruthie didn't need him anymore. None of them needed Eric anymore; except for Lucy and Savannah.

He ran a comb through his hair, so he would at least look half-way decent, and slowly walked down the hallway. When he reached the living room, he stopped dead; he thought his heart had stopped as he took a deep inhaling breath. He had expected to see his wife, daughter, and son-in-law when he entered the living room. Instead, there sat his son, David and his girlfriend. While he was happily shocked to see them; he was more shocked to see who accompanied them.

"Grandpa!" his small brown-haired nine-year-old grandson screeched. Even though Matt and Sarah still lived nearby, he and Annie didn't see the kids near enough. He wrapped his arms around his young grandson, and gave him a pat on the head.

"Hey, little man!" Eric grinned, still semi-stupefied. He jerked his neck up to see Jacob's older thirteen-year-old brothers sitting on the floor engaged in a television program. They both turned their heads to acknowledge him.

"Hey, Gramps," Jeremiah smiled, waving.

"How's it going?" Jonah asked, as he took turns glancing between the television and Eric.

"It's going," Eric nodded his head, as he suddenly realized Jacob, Jonah, and Jeremiah weren't the only unusual company in his living room. In his son's girlfriend's arms was a small dark-skinned, black-haired toddler. She looked as if she could have Vietnamese ancestors, though Eric did not recognize her.

On the loveseat sat three more unfamiliar faces. The smallest little leaned in against the older girl on the left. She was sobbing; tears were rolling down her cheeks. He couldn't help but stare at the girls in a peculiar way. They look familiar; yet, he couldn't place them. A vision suddenly hit him_: He had heard a commotion from upstairs; yelling. Eric made a run for the stairs by the kitchen to see what was going on. When he got down there, he saw his disrupted family and two young innocent faces looking up at him as they clung to his newest son-in-law; a man he had once hated but had learned to love when he moved in with them. Across from them another young face stood; tears had begun to roll down his cheeks as his mother had yelled._

"_You'll all regret this. Come on Charlie, let's go!" _

Eric blinked his eyes as he looked into his long-lost granddaughters' anxious eyes. On that day, he thought he had lost them forever. Here, as it turned out, he had not been imagining his oldest daughter's voice. It was real; it had to have really been her. Mary was in town.

"Dad…Lucy and Kevin along with Sarah, Simon, Ronald, Mary, Robbie, and Ruthie went over to Lucy and Kevin's house. They mentioned something about going through Savannah's computer to look for clues for her whereabouts," David explained as he stood up, leaving his girlfriend to hold the toddler.

Eric lifted a brow. "I see…wait…Ruthie's in town? Where are her daughters? I've been dying to see them." His eyes wandered around the room, looking for a hint of Natasha or Zoey.

"Peter stayed home with the kids," David answered quickly.

"Oh." Eric frowned with disappointment. He eyeballed the little girl in Melinda's arm. "Who's this little girl?" He smiled at the quiet toddler, who seemed to be taking a liking for Melinda.

"This is Simon and Ronald's adopted daughter," David explained, "Lena."

_Oh, _Eric thought, as he raised his eyebrows. He looked into the little girl's darling dark black eyes. Her wide eyes set on him with curiosity. Then he remembered; while he had not spoken with Simon in months, he had been in contact with Ruthie. Ruthie had mentioned that Simon and Ronald were considering adopting a child. While he hadn't advised against it, he still wasn't sure how he felt about it. But still…that meant that this little girl was his granddaughter, right? "Well, hello there, sweetie," he cooed at the little girl. "I'm your…grandfather." She stared at him blankly, clinging to Melinda.

He took his focus off of the little toddler for a moment, turning around to see the three girls on the loveseat. "Emilia, right?" he asked, looking at the girl on the right, then turned to the girl on the left, "Jennifer?"

"I'm Jennifer," the girl on the right said.

"And I'm Emilia," the girl said, restlessly.

"Oh. Right," he laughed lightly. All of a sudden, he felt all cumbersome inside. It had been years since he had seen Jennifer and Emilia, and given the situation, he was at a loss of words of what to say to them. Who knew what their mother had told them about him; who knew what ideas they had in their small heads. "And who's this?"

"Olivia," the girls both said at the same time. The pre-school aged child waved anxiously at him. Looking into the little girl's eyes he saw a familiar face. He would know those eyes anywhere; sincere, kind, and capable of manipulating anyone. Eric knew one thing for sure: she was his granddaughter.

Dark circles wrapped around the three girls' eyes; they looked like they hadn't slept all night. "You know, if you're tired…we have a couple bedrooms in the back." He smiled, trying to make his long-lost granddaughters feel welcome.

"I'm not tired!" the little girl perked up, jumped off the loveseat, and placed her hands on her hips. Eric could tell that child – Olivia – had spunk. In a way, she reminded him of her mother when she was younger.

Emilia, on the other hand, let out a yawn. "I'm exhausted; let's see, Mom woke me up late last night and said that we were flying across the country." She rolled her eyes. "The little sleep I got was on an airplane." She gave her sister an annoyed gape, Jenny only shrugged. "So…I think I'm going to go lie down."

"The bedrooms are just down that hallway," Eric pointed his left hand toward the hallway. "Help yourself to any of them except the bedroom at his end of the hall on the right. That's your grandmother and my bedroom."

The thirteen-year-old mumbled something that sounded like, "You're not my grandparents." But Eric couldn't be sure that was what she said; the girl shrugged and disappeared down the hallway.

Eric turned around at Olivia. "So, what is your favorite color?" he asked the little girl, trying to get acquainted with a granddaughter he had never met. It felt so awkward; of course he should have suspected that Mary and Robbie would have more children. The reality just had never really set in his head. In a way, he had just let Mary go; as if she hadn't existed. All of these years had passed, and he had tried to avoid thinking about her. But she was here…well, not here; but in Glen Oak. His heart raced as he couldn't wait to see her.

"Purple," the little girl stated quietly, as she pointed to her purple squirt and purple vest. Eric raised his eyebrows and nodded. The child made him feel as if he ought to have already known that.

He looked toward his son and possible future daughter-in-law. "Hey, you said that everyone went down to Lucy and Kevin's, right?" David and Melinda both nodded quietly. "Well…I think I'm going to head down there, you know, just to see how things are going. Maybe they need my help. You guys are going to be okay with all the kids?"

David looked over at Jeremiah and Jonah, still engaged in the television program. "Yeah," Melinda answered, and smiled as she bounced the toddler in her arms. "I think we've got it under control. Go along, Dad."

"Eric," Eric corrected. "I'm not Dad until you two tie the knot…unless there's something you two aren't telling me." He glanced between his son and his girlfriend. David shrugged as he looked at Melinda.

"Nope, Dad, there's nothing," David said, and quaintly glanced at his girlfriend. "I'm sure Melinda was just practicing and all."

He sighed, shook his head, and couldn't help but think that they were leaving something out. "Well, I'll talk to you guys later." He looked at the door then back at his grandchildren.

"Bye, Grandpa!" Jacob exclaimed and waved at him.

"Yeah…bye," Jonah and Jeremiah both said drearily, seeming to only be half-aware of what was going on around their surrounds.

Eric shrugged and made a jog for the door. By the time he was at the front door, despite it only being a few steps away, the aging man was already out of breath. He could remember the days from his youth; the days he could go on and on all day long without feeling tired. That wasn't the case anymore. Getting out of bed was sometimes the biggest struggle he went through. Walking from the bed to the bathroom was a challenge. He would give anything to go back twenty years. Twenty years ago he was a minister with seven healthy children living at home.

When he shot the front door open his jaw dropped open when he saw who was already standing before him. His hands were clasped together as he stood almost a foot taller than a shrinking Eric. Eric could tell that he wasn't the only one startled when the door opened. His grown son had nearly fallen off the step with the door's opening. Matt's jaw dropped at the sight of his father; it was apparent he hadn't seen the door's opening coming.

"Matt!" Eric cried in shock. It had been a year since he had seen his son in the flesh. "What are you doing here?"

Matt frowned and shook his head. "I was working up the courage to knock on the door."

"Well," Eric grimaced. "You don't have to knock here, son. Besides, you have never knocked before when you've stopped by."

Matt shook his head; his long brown hair covered up his eyes. His hair was the longest it had been since he was a teenager. Ever since he had gone into the Medical field, Matt had kept his hair shorter. "Well, Dad," Matt started slowly, "the last time I stopped by here it hadn't been a year since I'd been here."

_So he has a point, _Eric thought, and gave his son a suspicious glare. Aside from his new long hair, Matt had also grown a beard. Eric couldn't remember a time when his son had worn a beard. His current beard was a good inch long. Also, he couldn't help but notice how scrawny his son looked. Matt had always had some meat on his bones; but now he was down to nothing at all. His skeletal features were noticeable. While working as minister, Eric had dealt with several people who looked similar to him. But they were all addicts. _Matt wouldn't do that, _he told himself_, Matt would never turn to drugs…_

"Daddy?" a screech came from behind Eric. He turned around and saw that Jacob had spotted his father at the door. The nine-year-old raced across the room and wrapped his arms around Matt. "Jonah and Jeremiah said that Mom was lying when she said you'd come back! I knew she wasn't, I knew you'd be back!"

Eric noticed the tears watering up in his son's eyes as he grasped onto his youngest son's body. "I'm here, Jake, I'm here," he whispered.

"I've missed you," Jacob said, letting go of his father. "Where have you been, Daddy?" The big brown eyes gazed into Matt's. Eric looked down into his young grandson's innocent face; then gazed back up at his eldest son's. He couldn't help but notice the resemblance. Jacob was a miniature Matt; unlike his brothers who looked more like Sarah.

Matt frowned, curling his lip underneath his front teeth. Eric could tell he didn't want to answer his son's question. _Where have you been, Matt? _Eric thought to himself. Obviously, wherever he had been, he couldn't honestly tell his nine-year-old.

Jacob turned around and ran in the house. Eric heard him scream, "Jeremiah! Jonah! Dad's here! He's really here! Come to the door and see!"

"Jake, hush," Eric heard Jeremiah tell his brother.

"Yeah, you're bluffing. Dad's not here, he doesn't give a rat's ass about us," Jonah told his younger brother.

"No guys! He's really here! Come see for yourself!" Jacob continued to insist.

Eric watched his oldest son's eyes droop. He shook his head. "I knew I shouldn't have come here, Dad," Matt sighed. "I knew that Jonah and Jeremiah wouldn't be able to forgive me…and I don't deserve Jacob's forgiveness."

"How did you know they would be here?" Eric inquired suspiciously.

"I…stopped at home and there was a note…I assume Sarah left it just in case I came home," Matt said quietly. His brown oval eyes were filling with water. It tormented Eric to see his full-grown son so washed up and full of sadness. Eric just knew he had to dig to the bottom of it.

"Where have you been, Matt?" Eric placed his hand on his son's shoulder. Matt shook his head, frowning. "Let's take a walk," Eric insisted. "Let's walk over to Kevin and Lucy's, okay? That's where Sarah and the rest of the family went, or at least that's what I'm told."

Matt nodded somberly and agreed to Eric's offer. "Okay, Dad, let's do that."

**Savannah**

Her tongue locked with his as they continued to make love to each other. This second time was more enjoyable than the first. She brushed his hand against his damp sweaty hair as they changed positions. Her tongue brushed against his teeth as he touched her own sweaty face. She continued to inhale and exhale heavily, panting like a dog.

Savannah didn't want the moment to end, ever. When she was with Charlie, she felt the most utmost comfort; she felt as if she were protected, and nothing in her life could ever go wrong again. The warmth from his body traveled to hers, making her feel secure.

Her lips were pressed tight against his when she swore she heard a door slamming. Nervously, she released her lips from Charlie's. "Did you hear that?" she whispered into his ear.

"Hear what?" Charlie whispered and kissed her again. As his lips pressed tightly against hers again, she listened carefully. She heard nothing but the sounds of their own breathing. It must have been her imagination.

But she couldn't control the tightening of her stomach muscles. Suddenly, she felt as if something bad were about to happen. _It's just my imagination, _she told herself, but she couldn't shake the feeling.

"Relax," Charlie whispered softly as he continued pushing. "Besides, I thought you said you wanted to get caught."

She closed her eyes and felt his lips push against hers again. _"Besides, I think I want to get caught," _she clearly remembered telling Charlie the night before. But did she really? In a way, yes; but not like this. What would happen if they were to walk in on them right then and there? She might as well consider herself a dead woman. Her mother would never let her live this down, despite how much she claimed to _love _her.

"Charlie—," she began as she saw the door handle to her bedroom moving in her peripheral vision. Her bedroom door had never had a lock from the inside installed in it. Savannah's parents had told her that the house had come that way for a reason. Children weren't supposed to be able to lock their parents out of their rooms.

"_But Caitlin's bedroom door locks…" _Savannah could remember protesting.

"_Well, you're not Caitlin. You are our daughter." _Her parents had given her stern looks as Savannah had pouted.

"Charlie!" she screeched, "the—the door!" By the time Charlie had turned his head the door was already opening. She heard him let out a gasp as he pounced off of her. He dashed across to his bag, but by then it was too late. Her mother's high-pitched scream came from the door that led into the bedroom. Savannah's jaw dropped and she soon found herself screaming; her throat burned as she yelled. She glanced over at Charlie; still standing there butt-naked as he fiddled for a pair of pants. Then she looked down at herself; she was lying there in the same nightgown she had worn the night before. She ran her fingers through her hair, realizing it was a reckless mess. Her lungs became heavy and her voice hoarse. She felt as if she couldn't breathe any longer.

"Luce! What's wrong?" she heard her father's voice come toward her bedroom. By then, Charlie had slipped on a pair of sweatpants; he was still shirtless. Her father appeared before her, and was looking straight at his wife. "Luce, what—," then his head turned toward Savannah and his eyes widened. "Savannah?" he mouthed.

"They—they were sleeping together," Lucy mouthed. "My fourteen-year-old daughter was having _sex _with her cousin!" Savannah's face burned hotly as she watched her father's generally tan face turn pale. He gaped at her with wide eyes, and suddenly took notice to Charlie standing there, still shirtless.

Charlie crept over to Savannah, now shivering with nervousness, and wrapped his arms around her. "This isn't how you pictured it, is it?" she whispered into his ear.

"Get away from my daughter!" Lucy cried and turned to Kevin. "Arrest him!"

Kevin grunted and crossed his arms. "Well, Luce, I can't exactly do that…if they were really sleeping together, it's not exactly illegal …it's not against the law to sleep with your cousin..."

"He was _raping _her!" Lucy shrieked. She turned to Savannah, "Isn't that right, sweetie? He kidnapped you, didn't he? And he raped you?" Savannah curled her lip underneath her teeth and didn't know how to respond to that, knowing it wasn't the truth.

"What's going on back here?" Savannah suddenly realized that they weren't only joined by her parents. Behind her parents she saw her aunts, Sarah and Ruthie, and her uncle Simon and his partner, Ronald. She squinted and saw two faces she hadn't seen in ages.

"Oh shit," she heard Charlie whisper underneath his breath. "It's my mom and that jerk."

Her mother turned around and looked into the eyes of her oldest sister; an aunt that Savannah had not seen in seven years. The same aunt that had taken her cousin away from her years ago; had she not done that, Savannah could bet money that none of what had happened would have happened. Lucy spat, "Your son raped my daughter!"

Mary's face scrunched together as she broke past Kevin and Lucy. "Charles Miguel?" she whispered as she laid eyes on her son for the first time in years. Savannah watched Charlie's tan face blush as he gazed at his mother. Mary seemed to be in a trance for a moment, but after that moment she shook her head and turned to Lucy. "Like hell my son raped your daughter; if anything, it was your daughter raping my son just like you raped Simon for all of those years!" Mary fired an angry gaze at Lucy and then looked at Simon. She then mouthed toward a blushing Simon, "It's her fault you turned out the way you did."

Savannah widened her eyes_, what is she talking about? _She watched her mother's face flush burnt red, as she didn't deny Mary's accusations. Every one had let out loud gasps.

"What on Earth are you talking about, Mary?" Savannah suddenly realized her grandmother was there as well. She stood in between Sarah and Ruthie. Sarah had the most perplexed look on her face, and Ruthie was gazing at her older brother with frightened eyes. As she spoke, she was putting her cell phone in her pocket. "I just got done calling Carlos. He's on his way..."

"Great," Charlie mumbled underneath his breath.

Mary pointed her finger at Lucy; she didn't seem to care that her mother had just called her ex-husband. "Why the hell do you people think I couldn't come back to Glen Oak? Why I couldn't stand to face Lucy and Simon? It all happened right after Matt's wedding…everyone was at their reception, but I noticed that Simon and Lucy were gone; Mom told me that Simon wasn't feeling well, so Lucy had taken him home. Immediately I couldn't help but feel suspicious…so I made my own way home…afraid of what I was going to find. They were in Simon's bedroom, with the door cracked open. Fools thought they would be alone in the house…but little did they know…"

"You bitch," Lucy growled, squishing her face up like she did when she got angry. "What Simon and I did was no different than what you did with Matt!"

"What I did with Matt? How about what _you _did with Matt! I saw you coming onto him too…you were always jealous that Matt loved me more than you, I could see in your eyes. Matt _loved _me more than a sister, and you just wanted a piece of him."

"Hah! Right, Matt only let you think that he loved you because he felt sorry for you. I was his true love, so hah!" Lucy crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

Annie's expression perplexed as she looked into both of her daughter's eyes. "Wait, what are you saying about Matt? You have lost me."

"What the…" Sarah's face had whitened as she looked at both of her sisters-in-law who were proclaiming their love for her husband. Savannah could tell from her aunt's face that she was thinking the same thing she was: Lucy and Mary weren't just talking about sibling love.

Ruthie's face was as white as a ghost and Savannah noticed that her eyes were wandering around the room. It was almost as if she were trying to avoid eye contact. Her eyes stopped wandering and stopped at her feet.

At that moment, Ruthie heard a voice. "Hello? Is anyone here? The door was open…" Immediately, she recognized the voice as her grandfather.

"We're back here!" her grandmother yelled loudly. Within moments, her grandfather appeared, but not alone. He had company…her uncle Matt.

"Matt?" Sarah gasped with wide eyes. Savannah could tell she was shocked; she looked as if she had not seen her husband in days.

"Well, talk about perfect timing," Lucy rolled her eyes and stuck her chin up high.

Mary repeated her sister's actions. "No kidding," she muttered.

"What's going on here?" Matt asked; dark circles filled the sockets underneath his eyes. He looked like he had not had a full night's sleep in days. His skin practically hung off of his body, with no meat to hold it up.

"I was hoping you could tell me that," Sarah gave her husband a stern look. Matt tried to place his hand on his wife, but she jerked away and leaned closer to Kevin. She crossed her arms and gave Matt a fiendish look. Kevin placed his arm around Sarah and Lucy noticed.

"What the _hell _are you doing?" Lucy gasped, looking at her husband with a fiend look. Kevin simply shrugged, not replying to his wife.

"I think Sarah's right," Ruthie mumbled, glaring at her oldest brother. "I think you have some explaining to do. I thought _I _was the only you loved like _that_." Her eyes had watered up, like she was hurt.

Matt blushed. "Oh…so…you know about Mom…" He looked at his mother whose jaw dropped. Annie gazed over at her husband whose eyes had opened wide.

"What is he talking about, Annie?" Eric queerly looked between his son and wife.

"I—nothing…" Matt shuddered.

Tears started to roll down Annie's cheeks as she moved closer to her older son. "They didn't know…but I guess it's time we tell the truth," she mouthed. She looked toward Eric and brushed her hand down his face. "Eric…Matt's the father of the twins."

"He's _what_?" Eric gasped breathlessly. "You…fucking…whore! You slept with our _son_? Who the heck do you think you are?"

"Well, Dad, look what you did to Mary," Matt snarled. "I saw you two together…and then she came onto me. How could I resist?"

By then, tears were rolling out of Ruthie's eyes. "You slept with them all!" Ruthie cried. "I thought I was special!" She raised her hand and slapped Matt's face. "You big fucking jerk!" Savannah could see the handprint she had left on Matt's face as he turned away.

"To think I looked up to you," Simon glared at his oldest brother. Tears were watering up in his eyes as his face flushed red. "When I was little, I wanted to be just like you. I thought I could let go what you did to Ruthie…I mean, Lucy told me it was normal for siblings to have relationships…but _shit_…you did _Mom_?" His red face had suddenly turned green and he grabbed Ronald's hand. "I think I'm going to be sick…and I thought Erica was too much."

"What do you know about Erica?" Matt's face suddenly turned purple as he glared at his younger brother.

Simon rolled his eyes. "I spent the night with Uncle Hank and Aunt Julie last night…Hank told me everything. He told me the _real _reason you were fired." He glared at Sarah, whose eyes were watered up as she clung into Kevin. "Sarah, I'm sorry that you have to find out like this…but…Matt paid Hank big money not to let it get out to the press. He was caught having sex with our cousin Erica when she was seven months pregnant…the story about the eclampsia was, well, just a story."

Any complexion that was left in Sarah's face was sucked out almost immediately. "I knew," she gasped. "I knew he was cheating on me." She had lost her balance and suddenly literally fell on top of Kevin, who grabbed her tightly. Meanwhile, Lucy was sending her husband disgusted looks.

"I knew you were cheating one me," Lucy growled. "But not with my _sister-in-law_!"

Kevin turned pale, as he didn't deny Lucy's accusation. _Dad's cheating with Sarah? _Savannah's thoughts raced as she looked at both of her parents. She stared with awe and disbelief. Then she saw the way that Kevin caringly gazed into Sarah's brown, shocked eyes. It was a look that he used to give her mother back when Savannah was a little kid. She hadn't seen her father give her mother that look in years. Just then, Savannah realized, she it didn't matter to her whether or not her father was cheating with her aunt. In fact, she almost hoped he was. Sarah was always kind and caring to her; she would rather have Sarah as a mother than her own.

"He didn't tell you anything else about Erica…right?" he stuttered as he looked at his younger brother.

"What else is there to tell?" Simon gasped. "You were having sex with your cousin and you're married! What the hell else is there to tell?"

"Like…I'm the father of her daughter…"

"You're what?_!_" Sarah cried with tears streaming down her face. She broke away from Kevin and lifted her finger at her husband. "Who the hell are you, and what did you do with the man I married? I can't believe you! Cheating on me with your _cousin_? And now you're the father of your brothers and her child! You make me sick! I can't take this anymore!" She ran out of the room, and Kevin followed after her.

"That's it!" Lucy shrieked. "Kevin and I are done! I'm done with him. I'm filing for divorce! I can't take his cheating!"

Matt frowned as he wrapped his arm around Lucy. "Luce, I'm sorry…I'm sorry."

"This isn't your fault," Lucy mumbled, as she glared at Mary. "It's all hers…this all began when she posed nude in _Gear_!"

"This has nothing to do with the magazines, and besides I only posed semi-nude!" Mary shrieked, pulling her hair out. "This is all about you raping Simon, and your daughter raping my son! Lucy, you need to learn to live in the present. The past has nothing to do with the present—."

"—But that's where you're wrong! The past have everything to do with the present!" Lucy cried. "It's absolutely _everything_!"

"Well, if it helps matters…" Matt mumbled. "You and I…never committed incest."

"What?" Annie, Eric, Lucy, Ruthie, and Mary gasped at the same time.

"You see," Matt began. "When I was taking this Biology class, I had to get samples from someone in my family's DNA, remember that Lucy?" Lucy nodded slowly, seeming to remember. "Anyway…" Matt continued, "I got samples of Lucy's hair…and compared it to mine…and…I was shocked to realize that…we're not related in any way, shape, or form."

"What?" Lucy gasped and shot a look at her parents. "How is that possible?"

Eric's jaw dropped again as he shot an angry look at his wife. "Yeah, Annie, how is that possible?"

Tears were already rolling down Annie's face as she started to explain. "Lucy…sweetie…you see, well…" she turned to Eric. "The real Lucy stopped breathing in the middle of the night…and I felt as if I had failed as a mother, so I buried her in the back yard…and immediately went out searching for another baby…and I found her…the daughter we've raised from the time she was two weeks old. I…I decided it wasn't a big deal, right? I mean, after all, she's still our daughter—right? We raised her."

"I—I was _kidnapped_?" Lucy gasped as she looked at her mother with angry eyes.

"I guess that's what you could say," Annie frowned. Eric's eyes were glaring with death toward her eyes. "I just couldn't let Eric know that our baby was dead…he would never forgive me…so, I took you from your crib while your mother was in the shower. I saw you alone in your crib; and your bedroom was on ground level. So I could just slip inside your bedroom and out…and nobody noticed."

"My God!" Lucy screamed. "T-That means…that…Savannah and Charlie aren't cousins…that I'm not related to any of you…that explains everything! That explains why I always felt I was different…oh my…" She ran out of the room, her frantic heavy steps could be heard as she ran down the hall way. Mary and Robbie, both in shock, followed after Lucy.

Once they were gone, Eric crossed his arms at his wife and whispered, "Are there any more secrets you would like to tell me about our children?"

"Yeah, really," Ruthie rolled her eyes. She had been quiet with sobs since Matt's revelations had come up.

"Well…yeah…you see…you're not the father of Simon or Ruthie, either," Annie whispered. "You know how you were diagnosed with that fertility problem after Sam and David came?" Eric didn't say a word, but his face was so pale he looked like he could have a heart attack at any moment. "You see, well, the doctor told me that you had probably had it for many years and that was when I realized. Well, let's just say…I've been around…"

Ruthie clasped her hand over her mouth and grabbed Simon's wrist. Both looked ill. Tears streamed out of Ruthie's eyes as she turned around and ran out of the room; she was followed by Simon and Ronald. Matt shook his head and mouthed, "And I thought I was bad…" he then ran after his brother and sister.

Eric glared at his wife and grabbed her wrist tightly with vengeance. "I can't believe this," he mouthed. Out of the blue, he pushed her against the wall and slapped her across the face. "And to think I thought we were happily married after all of these years." He purged out of the room, and Annie chased after him; leaving Savannah and Charlie alone once again.

"Wow," was all Savannah could mouth. "I think they've forgotten about us."

"Um, I don't think you saw that coming…did you?" Charlie asked.

"My family's more fucked up than I thought it was, if that's what you mean?" Savannah laughed, as she placed her hand on Charlie's shoulder. He nodded, raising his eyebrows.

"Well," he whispered, "I guess we're not cousins…"

Her mouth dried up with those words. She didn't know if that were a good or a bad thing. But, either way, suddenly she felt relieved. It was like everything she had done wrong didn't exist. She leaned into Charlie and their lips pressed against each others one final time…

**-X-X-X-X-**

A tall blonde haired young adult, of eighteen, stood outside of the cozy-looking home. Flowers were planted all along the side of the house. Several cars were parked in the driveway. Immediately, she assumed that inside they were having some big Christmas celebration. She was a nervous wreck as she looked down at the square pink Post-It note in her hand as she double checked the address one more time. She nodded her head as she clarified that the address matched the one in her hand.

With a heart full of nerves, Sophie Mitchell stepped out of the blue Malibu she had rented from the Glen Oak Airport. Having grown up in a small town in New Jersey, Sophie had never been out of the Northeast until that day. It was a day she had been looking forward to since her eighteenth birthday when she had decided to go searching for her birth parents.

Yesterday when she received the phone call that her birth mother had been located, Sophie had been elated. While she had grown up in a loving adoptive family, Sophie couldn't help but wonder about where she had really come from. As she grew older, her curiosity continued to grow. Back when she was a minor, she had been afraid to ask her adoptive parents about them. So, she waited until she turned eighteen to begin researching herself.

She had hired a private investigator to help her, and yesterday she had received the phone call that she believed could change her life forever. While she had received no word on her birthfather, her birthmother had been located in the town of Glen Oak, California. Apparently, according to her investigator, she had lived there her entire life. She was apparently married and had a fourteen-year-old daughter. Sophie was eager to find out she had a sister who was only four years younger than her. She couldn't wait to meet her.

Sophie had been given a phone number, but she was afraid to use it. What if her mother didn't want to meet her? Well, that didn't justify her immediately jumping on a plane and flying to California. If she didn't want to meet her, then the flight would have been a complete waste. _It won't be a waste, _she told herself. As long as she got to see her birth-mother's face, it wouldn't be a waste.

As she gathered the courage to step on the lawn, she heard the sound of a car pulling up behind her. She twirled around to see a black Chevy pull up. Her heart stopped dead as the man driving the car stepped out. He looked Hispanic; he had neatly combed black hair and stood not much higher than she did. "Hello, I don't think we've met," he spoke with a Spanish accent.

"Um…no," she stuttered as she stuck her hand out. "I'm Sophie…Sophie Mitchell."

"Carlos, Carlos Rivera." He shook her hand and lifted a brow, "I can't help but say you look familiar…are you related to the Camdens?"

She smiled weakly and nodded, "My mother's maiden name was Camden, or so I'm told."

"Ah, I see, I didn't know Eric had other sisters. Of course, I haven't been around long enough. I'm only here to retrieve my son. I'm sure you've heard about the mischief he and his cousin have gotten into," he winked, as if she were supposed to know what he was talking about.

Her head spun with endless possibilities, but she didn't want him to think she was an idiot, "Um…sure."

"You've got to understand, Charlie's not a bad boy. In fact, he's gotten good grades, and has lots of friends at home. He's just confused with what his mother did, and can you blame him?" Her face felt hot as she stared at him completely clueless.

Before she could make a complete fool of herself, she heard sirens. She searched around as she looked to see where they were coming from. Her throat clotted up with what she saw next. Just down the street, there was a little dark-haired girl running down the street—naked. The girl couldn't have been older than thirteen as she ran down the street holding onto a T-shirt. Tears were streaming from the child's face.

"Emi…?" she heard the man whisper as he walked closer to the child. "I'd recognize that face anywhere." He spoke. As he walked closer to the child, the front door of the house flung open and a woman with wavy-brown hair barged out of the house.

"Emi, sweetie!" she cried. "Why are you completely naked? Where are your clothes? Why are you running down the street?" The woman ran over to the little girl and wrapped her arms around the child as she helped the frantic, distraught child put her T-shirt on.

"He raped me, Mommy!" the child yelled, in tears. "Uncle Sam…raped…me!"

"He—what?" the woman's face turned pale as she let the girl fall into her arms. More people started to come out of the house. A gray-haired elderly woman stepped out; bruises filled her eyes as if she had been beaten.

"What _is_ going on, Mary?" she asked the woman as she ran across the lawn.

"I-I'll tell you what…" Mary growled. "Y-Your son raped my daughter, your _grandchild_…that is if I am really your daughter." The older woman turned pale with Mary's harsh words. As they spoke, a tall buff man crossed the lawn.

"Who did this to you?" he asked softly, looking at the child.

"Sam did it," Mary answered for her daughter.

As she comforted the girl they called Emi, the sirens came closer. A police car came into view from the end of the street. It zoomed speedily down the street and parked on the sidewalk.

A skinny blonde police officer with her hair in a bun stepped out of the police car. Her eyes widened when she saw the little girl in Mary's arms. "Thank God you're here, Officer!" Mary cried. "Her uncle…who's also her cousin," Mary's face turned green, "raped her! Go arrest him!"

The police officer nodded. "We have received several calls from neighbors of a naked girl running the streets. Also, we received a call from David at the Camden residence. Apparently, he heard commotion from the bedroom and walked in on them. Emi escaped out the window that Sam apparently opened to sneak in on her…now Sam's nowhere to be found. But he gave his brother a pretty bad bruise."

"I knew it," Mary growled as a dark haired man ran out of the house and over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and the child.

"What's going on?" he asked upfront.

She told him everything that the police officer had just informed them, and his face whitened as he looked at the girl. Sophie immediately assumed that this was her husband. Mary cried, "I knew it was a bad idea to leave the kids with strangers! I just knew it! I had a feeling." The little girl's tears bled onto her mother's long sleeved shirt.

For the first time since she had gotten there, people seemed to become aware of her. "Um, excuse me, but who are you?" a woman of about her height asked. She had a round face, and her face was stained with old tears.

Sophie adjusted her shoulders and stood straight up. "I—I'm Sophie Mitchell; the daughter of Lucy Camden and Mike Pierce…I was told that Lucy Kinkirk lives here."

The woman's face whitened as her blue eyes glistened into hers. "I'm Lucy Kinkirk," the woman whispered. "You were raised by Jeremy's parents, right?"

She shook her head. "No…I was taken by social services when I was only a year old. I was adopted by Sharon and David Mitchell." Her parents had told her everything they knew about the family she had been taken from; well, that they were drug addicts and not the parents on her birth certificate.

"Oh," her birthmother whispered. "I … ought to have known that would have happened. But…I—I couldn't keep you…not going into the profession I was going into…and they offered to keep you. I thought you would have a better life with two parents…"

As Sophie looked around her surroundings, and the strange people present, she could see that she had lived a good life compared to what she was witnessing. She could see so many dark shadows; suddenly, she realized why she should have called first. Here she had expected to barge into Christmas carols and gift-openings. She couldn't begin to talk about bad timing.


End file.
